Enthusiasts skate on a frozen fen in sub-zero temperatures on February 11, 2012 in Sutton, England. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Whitney Houston's body arrives at Whigham Funeral Home on February 13, 2012 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)

Brazilians perform capoeira on the first day of Carnival celebrations on February 16, 2012 in Salvador, Brazil. Rio de Janiero's Carnival begins tomorrow. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A general view of the Burj Khalifa on February 23, 2012 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At 829.84 m (2723 ft) tall the Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the world. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Pixel – the cat about to enter the record books as the world's shortest feline. Standing at just five inches from shoulder to paw this compact cat could break the previous record held by her mother Fizz Girl in 2012, who stood at six inches.

A competitor prepares to snorkle during the World Bog Snorkelling Championships on August 28, 2011 in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. In 2012, following the Olympic Games, Llanwrtyd Wells will host the inaugural World Alternative Games. (Photo by Harry Engels/Getty Images)

William Gibson is not one of the authors that spits out novels like a machine – in his long and fruitful career he has only published 11 novels andof short stories and articles in the tens each. Still his impact on modern literature was huge – the “noir prophet” of the cyberpunk subgenre (that he was one of the pioneers of) has predicted the rise of reality television, virtual reality, video games and the internet. He is a Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction writer, with a special eye for what the future might bring.

A ballet dancer stretches backstage during Nacho Duato's “The Nutcracker” at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia November 21, 2015. For theatregoers in St Petersburg, Nacho Duato's “The Nutcracker” demonstrates the global appeal of a Christmas classic. When the curtain rises at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, among the oldest opera and ballet houses in Russia, it's the culmination of hundreds of hours of toil and sweat by dancers, costume makers, set designers and musicians playing the famous score by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. (Photo by Grigory Dukor/Reuters)