Burning Man 2013. The federal government issued a permit for 68,000 people from all over the world to gather at the sold out festival, which is celebrating its 27th year, to spend a week in the remote desert cut off from much of the outside world to experience art, music and the unique community that develops. (Photo by Neil Girling)

Modern architecture is nothing short of a miracle. For example, the mind-boggling skyscrapers of Dubai would dumbfound anyone who is lucky enough to witness them in real life. Nevertheless, there are some modern buildings that are not as grand as the Burj Khalifa or Princess Tower, but are still wondrous to look at. Emporia Shopping Centre, located in Malmo, Sweden, is one of those places. The architect who designed this building is named Gert Wingardh. Emporia Shopping Centre was built to look as if its center was melted through by an inferno, leaving behind a giant molten block of gold.

Long-tailed mayflies (Palingenia longicauda) at Tisza river near Tiszainoka 135km (84 miles) southeast of Budapest, June 23, 2013. Millions of these short-lived mayflies engage in a frantic rush to mate and reproduce before they perish in just a few hours during “Tiszaviragzas” or Tisza blooming season from late spring to early summer every year. (Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Reuters)

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.

Everyone wants to get something for nothing - whether it's a lucky upgrade that means you can turn left when you get on a plane instead or heading off into the economy seats, or even getting a few extra features thrown in for free when you buy a new car.

As some of the sharpest businesses around, no-one understands this quite as well as casinos and that's why they all have a system that they call comps. It's short for "complimentary offers" and these are special treats specially designed to reward you for your loyalty to the casino in question. They're basically bonuses.

With more than 40,000 followers on Twitter and 26,400 fans on Vine, it looks like Marutaro the hedgehog from Japan is one of the most popular hedgehogs on the Internet. And as his owner keeps on posting Marutaro’s pictures online daily, Marutaro’s popularity continues to grow. There are hundreds of cute photographs and videos of this little fellow, but the ones with little paper cut-out faces are probably the cutest. As Marutaro lies on his back, his owner gives him a variety of silly expressions and smiles. The 20 best of them will definitely boost your mood!

Bloodthirsty by Thomas P. Peschak, Germany/South Africa — winner, Behaviour: birds. When rations run short on Wolf Island, in the remote northern Galápagos, the sharp-beaked ground finches become vampires. Their sitting targets are Nazca boobies and other large birds. The finches rely on a scant diet of seeds and insects, which regularly dries up, so they drink blood to survive. ‘I’ve seen more than half a dozen finches drinking from a single Nazca booby,’ says Tom. Rather than leave their nests the boobies tolerate the vampires, and the blood loss doesn’t seem to cause permanent harm. (Photo by Thomas P. Peschak/2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

If you ever wanted to wear houses on your finger, now’s your chance (though it’s hard to imagine that any sane person would have such a desire)! Clive Roddy offers you an opportunity to fulfill your dream of having a ring that features houses, waves, mountains, or trees. In order to create these rings, first the metal is cut using a laser, and then the whole thing is hand painted using colored enamel. Though these rings are very pretty, it is hard to imagine someone wearing such a ring on everyday basis. These types of rings should probably be reserved for special occasions or festivals, rather than for everyday use. (Photo by Clive Roddy)