Three secondary schoolboys smoking an illicit cigarette in Hyde Park, London. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images). May 1972

Judy, a black collie whose owner was killed by a train when trying to retrieve her after she slipped her lead. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images). 17th December 1976

The world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier, before his fight with Joe Bugner. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images). 18th June 1973

Do you think that history is a science? Well, not exactly. First, and foremost, history is the state's “legend of wars”, it’s official regalia. Of course, public historians are not interested in scientific truth – quite the opposite. In this respect, any attempt to present a state’s history as altruistic and benevolent as possible is welcomed and encouraged – as opposed to any revisionism attempts that may be more accurate. In this matter, Chinese have surpassed us all – they revised in highly creative manner (but rather shamelessly) the technology already invented by Europeans, a process that resulted in oldest state on the planet. Here is an interesting paradox: ask any sinologist about the Middle Kingdom during second century B.C., and he will describe it to you in such a vivid manner as if he has been living there all his life – but as soon as you will ask him to describe Chinese history in the 19-20th centuries… let's say, his eagerness will be greatly diminished. However, we will discuss China in a different article, and in the meantime we will try to understand how exactly historic “legend of wars” is formed and functions – based on a specific and well-known example. A great example is Ferdinand Magellan's first voyage around the world.

“In Tokyo, there are so many different fashion styles, cultures, and subcultures that it’s hard for even the most devoted fashion freak to keep up. Fashion photos from the streets of Tokyo”. (Photo by TokyoFashion.com; Source: Flickr)

Pop culture is the inspiration for many great artists. From music to movies, all of it provide great amount of ideas for people to do great, even witty pieces, like these, by American painter Hillary White.

These photos and video were taken in the Russian city of Astrakhan on the evening of June 7th, 2012. (Photo by Maxim Korotshenko)