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Kew Gardens employee Lauren Bird Royal examines the flowering of the Titan Arum lily at the Botanical Gardens

“The titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum (from Ancient Greek amorphos, “without form, misshapen” + phallos, “phallus”, and titan, “giant”) is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The titan arum's inflorescence is not as large as that of the Talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, but the inflorescence of the Talipot palm is branched rather than unbranched”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Kew Gardens employee Lauren Bird Royal examines the flowering of the Titan Arum lily at the Botanical Gardens at Kew on September 30, 2005 in London, England. For the first time in horticultural history, the Titan Arum lily can be seen at all three active stages in its lifecycle – in flower, fruit and leaf.The flowering corm is nearly three metres tall and weighs 91kg and is very rarely seen outside of the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
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20 Sep 2011 11:13:00
Ophiocordyceps Sinensis A.K.A. Caterpillar Fungus

“There are over 680 documented species of the sac fungus genus Ophiocordyceps, and one of the best known of these is Ophiocordyceps sinensis, colloquially known as caterpillar fungus. The fungus is known in Tibetan as yartsa gunbu or yatsa gunbu. O. sinensis is known in the West as a medicinal mushroom and its use has a long history in Traditional Chinese medicine as well as Traditional Tibetan medicine. The highly valuable fungus-caterpillar combination is hand-collected and is used as an aphrodisiac and as a treatment for a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Nomads dig for Chinese caterpillar fungus from a mountain May 25, 2007 in Guide County, Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Nomads can earn about 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan (about U.S. $260 to $653 ) through their work during the fifty-day Chinese caterpillar fungus gathering season. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
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26 Sep 2011 10:47:00
Burning Man Festival

“Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A fireball billows up from a 52-foot tall wooden man as it goes up in flames September 2, 2000 during the15th annual Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, Nevada. Despite high winds, dust storms, and a bit of rain, some 27,000 people camped out on a remote desert playa, or dry lake, for the week-long counter-cultural celebration of art and “radical self-expression”. (Photo by David McNew/Newsmakers)
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15 Oct 2011 10:41:00
Bangkok Floods

A Thai security guard stands by a wall of sandbags in front of a factory at the Bangchan Industrial Estate area on the outskirts of the capitol city November 8, 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand. Over seven major industrial parks in Bangkok and, thousands of factories have been closed in the central Thai province of Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi with millions of tons of rice damaged. Across the country, the flooding which is now in its third month has affected 25 of Thailand's 64 provinces. Thailand is experiencing the worst flooding in over 50 years which has affected more than nine million people. Over 400 people have died in flood-related incidents since late July according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. (Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)
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10 Nov 2011 09:11:00
A 'Double Eagle' gold twenty dollar coin

“A Double Eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. (Its gold content of 0.9675 troy oz was worth $20 at the then official price of $20.67/oz). The coins are made from a 90% gold (0.900 fine = 21.6 kt) and 10% copper alloy”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A “Double Eagle” gold twenty dollar coin is displayed above a catalogue picture showing the reverse side of the coin at Goldsmith's Hall on March 2, 2012 in London, England. Nearly half a million of these coins were originally minted in the midst of the Great Depression in the US. Only 13 are known today after the rest were melted down before they ever left the US Mint, sacrificed as part of a strategy to stabalise the American economy. In 2002 a Double Eagle sold at auction for $7.6 million. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
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03 Mar 2012 10:37:00
Members of a historical re-enactment group dressed as U.S. and Soviet Army soldiers take part in Elbe Day celebrations, in eastern German city of Torgau at the river Elbe, April 25, 2015. (Photo by Stefanie Loos/Reuters)

Members of a historical re-enactment group dressed as U.S. and Soviet Army soldiers take part in Elbe Day celebrations, in eastern German city of Torgau at the river Elbe, April 25, 2015. Elbe Day commemorates the encounter of the Allies 70 years ago, on the 25th of April 1945 when American and Soviet army units joined together on the destroyed bridge over the river Elbe. The photograph of the meaningful handshake made its way around the world and became a symbol of the near end of World War II in Europe. (Photo by Stefanie Loos/Reuters)
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26 Apr 2015 08:58:00
Performers in costume perform in the rain during the parade on the second day of the Notting Hill Carnival in west London on August 31, 2015. Nearly one million people are expected by the organizers Sunday and Monday in the streets of west London's Notting Hill to celebrate Caribbean culture at a carnival considered the largest street demonstration in Europe.  (Photo by Leon Neal/AFP Photo)

Performers in costume perform in the rain during the parade on the second day of the Notting Hill Carnival in west London on August 31, 2015. Nearly one million people are expected by the organizers Sunday and Monday in the streets of west London's Notting Hill to celebrate Caribbean culture at a carnival considered the largest street demonstration in Europe. The Notting Hill Carnival started in the 1960s, when the area had a large population of immigrants recently arrived from the Caribbean and was notorious for its slums – a far cry from today when it is one of London's most expensive places to live. (Photo by Leon Neal/AFP Photo)
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01 Sep 2015 15:17:00
“So you're on a boat in Bahamas and then this pig swims by begging for food”. (Photo and caption by Lisa Larsen/Public Domain)

The Bahamas, the Commonwealth nation of hundreds of islands roughly the size of Connecticut and with population of just a bit over Anaheim, is known for its crystal waters and pristine beaches. This is possibly one of the world’s most beautiful havens of nature, yet people are coming here to see pigs. It is unclear when the pigs first appeared on Exuma Island or where they come from. There’s talk about a daring escape from a shipwreck, or sailors releasing the swine on purpose. In all probability, there were no pigs on this tropical paradise before European settlers came, so their mere presence is the work of human. The intriguing feat of nature, however, is that this population of pigs developed a fine aptitude for swimming. Here: “So you're on a boat in Bahamas and then this pig swims by begging for food”. (Photo and caption by Lisa Larsen/Public Domain)
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03 Sep 2015 11:53:00