A female vendor sells Christmas and New Year paraphernalia from her stall at a roadside in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 16 December 2022. A few days before the Christmas holidays and with the celebrations of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in sight, the shopping for seasonal decoration in the West African city is at its peak. (Photo by Legnan Koula/EPA/EFE)

A looter smiles as she runs away from a member of the South African Police Services (SAPS) inside the Lotsoho Mall in Katlehong township, East of Johannesburg, on July 12, 2021. Several shops are damaged and cars burnt in Johannesburg, following a night of violence. Police are on the scene trying to control further protests. It is unclear if this is linked to sporadic protests following the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma. (Photo by Phill Magakoe/AFP Photo)

«Underwater». Laurie Simmons discovered this silicone sеx doll in a shop while on holiday in Japan and was immediately interested in the type of generic beauty their looks could add to her work. She went on to create the Love Doll series, in which she places silicone sеx dolls in positions that explore a woman’s interior life. (Photo by Laurie Simmons/Salon 94/The Guardian)

In more “raccoons are getting more like us” news, a drunk raccoon was found in a liquor store in Virginia, US in the first decade of December 2025. The animal had got into the shop via some loose ceiling tiles, knocked bottles of spirits off the shelves, lapped up the contents and passed out in the toilets. Once it had sobered up, it was released back into the wild – no doubt with a crashing hangover. (Photo by AP Photo)

Ann Carrington has a penchant for collecting old things. Her treasure is other peoples trash! For the past few years, she has been collecting old pearl necklaces from junk shops and boot fairs with a view to building the awesomely majestic galleons below.

An inflatable snake hovers during a performance by the French street theater company Plasticiens Volants on September 4, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The spectale, featuring gigantic flying inflatable fairy-tale creatures and performers on stilts and in costume was a part of celebrations for the 125th anniversary of the Kurfuerstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, a shopping boulevard. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)

Chef Jacques Torres celebrates the “40th Anniversary of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” with Oompa Loompas at his New York City chocolate shop event on October 18, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)