Small transportation boats, known as bumboats, leave trails of light as they travel across Marina Bay past the skyline of Singapore in this photo taken in 2004. Singapore holds a Jubilee weekend from 7 to 10 August to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence. Fifty years ago, hundreds of small boats lined the Singapore river in the city centre. Today, most small boats are gone, except a handful of neon-lit tourist ferries. Maritime trade is still the backbone of the city-state but after decades of rapid growth Singapore, which at less than half the size of London is among the world’s most densely populated nations, is also a popular tourist destination and a thriving global financial hub. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

A small series by illustration Alex Solis remembering those things that used to rule the world.

A bully greenfinch (left) got its comeuppance when a small but fiery dunnock (right) defended itself with its talons in Suffolk, United Kingdom on April 18, 2022. The smaller bird was perched peacefully before the finch burst onto the scene and aggressively squared up to the dunnock. But as the finch tried to peck at the dunnock, the small brown bird expertly used its foot to slam its mouth shut. (Photo by Paul Sawer/Solent News & Photo Agency)

This photo provided by the McKinney Fire Department shows officials at the site of a crash involving a small plane and a vehicle near Aero Country Airport, Saturday, November 11, 2023, in McKinney, Texas. Authorities say a small plane overshot the runway while trying to land at a Texas airport and struck a car that was driving along a nearby road, injuring one person. (Photo by McKinney Fire Department via AP Photo)

A girl uses her mobile phone during the evening at the National Park in Khartoum, Sudan, April 24, 2015. (Photo by Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters)

“Harajuku is a district in Shibuya ward, Tokyo Prefecture”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Harajuku Girl Photo Shoot. (Photo by Tokyo Fashion)

A girl participates in a New Year calligraphy contest in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2017. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A homeless girl asks for alms outside a coffee shop in Mumbai, India, June 24, 2016. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)