The Pied Piper of Hamelin, actually city tourism employee Michael Boyer, leads local children dressed as rats through a quiet street on November 19, 2012 in Hameln, Germany. The Pied Piper (in German: Der Rattenfaenger), is one of the many stories featured in the collection of fairy tales collected by the Grimm brothers, and the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the stories will take place this coming December 20th. Boyer, a U.S. citizen who has lived in Hameln for 15 years, and city children regularly perform a reenactment of the Pied Piper tale throughout the summer months. The Grimm brothers collected their stories from oral traditions in the region between Frankfurt and Bremen in the early 19th century, and the works include such global classics as Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel. (Photo by Sean Gallup)

While vacationing on the Maldives Islands, Taiwanese amateur photographer Will Ho stumbled onto an incredible stretch of beach covered in millions of bioluminescent phytoplankton. These tiny organisms glow similarly to fireflies and tend to emit light when stressed, such as when waves crash or when they are otherwise agitated. While the phenomenon and its chemical mechanisms have been known for some time, biologists have only recently began to understand the reasons behind it. Photo: Bioluminescent phytoplankton washes up on Maldives beach. (Photo by Will Ho)

The abandoned Moulton and Kyle Funeral Home in Jacksonville, Fla., which is more than 150 years old, was left to rot, with the premises eerily strewn with open caskets, a hearse and embalming chemicals. Much like the corpses that were laid to rest, the remains of this building too are slowly decomposing and decaying. Black mold has engulfed the walls, and chipped tiles from the collapsed ceilings cover many of the floors. (Photo by Abandoned Southeast/Caters News Agency)

Martin Joe Laurello, originally Martin Emmerling, was born in Germany around 1886. He was a sideshow performer who could turn his head a full 180 degrees. He performed with groups such as Ripley's Believe it or Not, Ringling Brothers, and Barnum & Bailey. He moved to America in 1921. He also trained dogs to do things such as acrobatics.

These images are enough to make viewers do a double-take. Although they look like vibrant works of abstract art, they are actually drone photographs taken by brothers J.P. and Mike Andrews, from near Wolverhampton, England. Here: Kickflip. (Photo by J.P. Andrews/Mike Andrews/Caters News Agency)

Swedish photographer Paul Hansen won the 2012 World Press Photo award Friday for newspaper Dagens Nyheter with a picture of two Palestinian children killed in an Israeli missile strike being carried to their funeral.

Photo: In this photo provided on Friday February 15, 2013 by World Press Photo, the 2013 World Press Photo of the year by Paul Hansen, Sweden, for Dagens Nyheter, shows two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and her three-year-old brother Muhammad who were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their father, Fouad, was also killed and their mother was put in intensive care. Fouad's brothers carry his children to the mosque for the burial ceremony as his body is carried behind on a stretcher in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories, November 20, 2012. (Photo by Paul Hansen/Dagens Nyheter/AP Photo)

If we were to burn NH4Cr2O7 with HgSCN in the Dark Ages in Europe and show it to anyone, it is us who would be burning next on a fiery cross of Inquisition. And it’s no wonder, since this experiment produces a truly marvelous result. At first, as you ignite the mixture of NH4Cr2O7 and HgSCN, all you can see is that it is slowly burning with a reddish flame. After a while, however, a crater is formed in the middle of the burning pile, and then, suddenly, tentacle-like appendages start sprouting from the burning mixture. And you can almost hear the scream of the mad occultist – “Come forth, Kraken! Come forth!” But of course, this is simply a chemical reaction that is called the "Pharoah's Serpent". It was also often sold in firework stores until people realized that it was toxic.