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“The saguaro (scientific name Carnegiea gigantea) is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California, U.S. The saguaro blossom is the State Wildflower of Arizona”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Daniel Appel (L), a firefighter with Engine 84 from the Lassen National Forest in California and Mike Hallen, (R), Arizona representative of the National Register of Big Trees, measure the circumference of this Saguaro cactus called the "Grand One," in the Tonto National Forest on July 1, 2005 35 miles north of Phoenix, near Carefree, Arizona. The cactus, estimated to be more than 200 years old, measures a circumference of 7 feet, 10 inches (2.4 meters) and stands 46 feet high (14 meters). The cactus was burned in the Cave Creek Complex fire and may not survive. It was once the largest Saguaro in the world, two others have been found recently that have tied it's measurements. The fire has burned more than 214,000 acres of the Sonoran desert. (Photo by Jeff Topping/Getty Images)
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26 Jul 2011 12:27:00
Sikorsky H-5 helicopters

“Igor Sikorsky (May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972), born Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky was a Russian American pioneer of aviation in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. He designed and flew the world's first multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft, the Russky Vityaz in 1913, and the first airliner, Ilya Muromets, in 1914. After immigrating to the United States in 1919, Sikorsky founded the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 1923, and developed the first of Pan American Airways' ocean-conquering flying boats in the 1930s. In 1939 Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the rotor configuration used by most helicopters today. Sikorsky would modify the design into the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Westland Sikorsky H-5's, used by British European Airways Helicopters, which fly between London and Birmingham. The Sikorsky H-5, (aka R-5, S-51, HO3S-1, or Horse) (R-5 until 1948; company designation VS-327) is a helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, formerly used by the United States Air Force, and its predecessor, the United States Army Air Forces, as well as the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard (with the designations HO2S and HO3S). (Photo by Harrison /Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 22nd May 1951
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06 Sep 2011 10:18:00
Several new species of peacock spider – just a few millimetres long and featuring extraordinary colours – have been discovered in Western Australia and South Australia. Jürgen Otto, a biologist from Sydney, has been researching the arachnids since 2005, and has gained a significant following online with his footage. He believes there are now 48 confirmed species of peacock spider within the Maratus genus, found across Australia but particularly in Western Australia – and many more awaiting confirmation. Here: Maratus Tasmanicus, one of seven new species of peacock spiders studied by the Sydney biologist Jürgen Otto. (Photo by Jürgen Otto)

Several new species of peacock spider – just a few millimetres long and featuring extraordinary colours – have been discovered in Western Australia and South Australia. Jürgen Otto, a biologist from Sydney, has been researching the arachnids since 2005, and has gained a significant following online with his footage. He believes there are now 48 confirmed species of peacock spider within the Maratus genus, found across Australia but particularly in Western Australia – and many more awaiting confirmation. Here: Maratus Tasmanicus, one of seven new species of peacock spiders studied by the Sydney biologist Jürgen Otto. (Photo by Jürgen Otto)
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30 May 2016 08:40:00
Gymnast Ahmad al-Sawas performs gymnastic moves near damaged buildings in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria March 26, 2016. As Syrian gymnast Ahmad al-Sawas watched his country fall apart, his Olympic dream collapsed too. The last national champion before the fighting began, he knew that supporting the anti-government side in the five-year-old civil war would prevent him from being selected for the Rio Games. “I chose to be an athlete who participates in the revolution”, said Ahmad, who trains where he can for two hours a day – be it on a mattress on a soccer field, in a local hall or somersaulting off a wall. (Photo by Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters)

Gymnast Ahmad al-Sawas performs gymnastic moves near damaged buildings in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria March 26, 2016. As Syrian gymnast Ahmad al-Sawas watched his country fall apart, his Olympic dream collapsed too. The last national champion before the fighting began, he knew that supporting the anti-government side in the five-year-old civil war would prevent him from being selected for the Rio Games. (Photo by Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters)
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05 Aug 2016 13:25:00
The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for “Peace Valley”, is seen in Najaf, south of Baghdad, Iraq August 3, 2016. The world's largest cemetery, in Iraq's Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, is expanding at double its usual rate as Shi'ite militias bury their dead from the war against Islamic State. The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for “Peace Valley” has a special place in the hearts of Shi'ite Muslims as it surrounds the Mausoleum of their first imam, Ali Bin Abi Talib, a cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad. (Photo by Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters)

The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for “Peace Valley”, is seen in Najaf, south of Baghdad, Iraq August 3, 2016. The world's largest cemetery, in Iraq's Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, is expanding at double its usual rate as Shi'ite militias bury their dead from the war against Islamic State. The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for “Peace Valley” has a special place in the hearts of Shi'ite Muslims as it surrounds the Mausoleum of their first imam, Ali Bin Abi Talib, a cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad. (Photo by Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters)
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24 Aug 2016 11:38:00
Igor Gavrilov, the main taxidermist of the Zoological centre at Tel Aviv University, works on a taxidermied animal, part of a collection which will be housed at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, a new Israeli natural history museum set to open next year in Tel Aviv, Israel June 8, 2016. Legions of insects, sea creatures and ancient fossils are lining up in a new museum shaped liked a giant Noah's Ark, telling the story of a crucial evolutionary byway across Israel. Experts say all humans and other animals had to pass through Israel on their first journey out of Africa into Europe and Asia. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

Igor Gavrilov, the main taxidermist of the Zoological centre at Tel Aviv University, works on a taxidermied animal, part of a collection which will be housed at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, a new Israeli natural history museum set to open next year in Tel Aviv, Israel June 8, 2016. Legions of insects, sea creatures and ancient fossils are lining up in a new museum shaped liked a giant Noah's Ark, telling the story of a crucial evolutionary byway across Israel. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)
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25 Aug 2016 09:42:00
The unromantic gypsies. Children boxing in a gypsy camp in Kent, England on July 1, 1951. Like all boys these gypsy lads like to try their hand at boxing. Encouraged by their friends they fight it out on Corke's Meadow. Few Romanies now live a life of wandering romance. Most are like the three hundred squatters of Corke's Meadow, Kent, which is part of a “gypsy problem” that involves about 100,000 today. Of those about 25,000 can be rightly called gypsies, the rest are Mumpers and Posh-rats and Hobos. Corke's Meadow has both kinds. “Picture Post” cameraman Bert Hardy photographs the Corke's Meadow gypsies in their encampment. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images)

The unromantic gypsies. Children boxing in a gypsy camp in Kent, England on July 1, 1951. Like all boys these gypsy lads like to try their hand at boxing. Encouraged by their friends they fight it out on Corke's Meadow. Few Romanies now live a life of wandering romance. Most are like the three hundred squatters of Corke's Meadow, Kent, which is part of a “gypsy problem” that involves about 100,000 today. Of those about 25,000 can be rightly called gypsies, the rest are Mumpers and Posh-rats and Hobos. Corke's Meadow has both kinds. “Picture Post” cameraman Bert Hardy photographs the Corke's Meadow gypsies in their encampment. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images)
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12 Mar 2017 00:01:00
Festival goer with phallus logo t-shirt during the Kanamara Matsuri Steel Phallus Festival at Kawasaki, Japan on April 2, 2017. The Kanamara Matsuri or Festival of the Steel Phallus is held on the first Sunday of April at the Kanayama shrine. The shrine celebrates a legend of a steel pen*s and was frequented by prostitutes who wished to pray for protection from sexually transmitted diseases. Visitors now wish for easy delivery, marriage and matrimonial harmony. Because of the large steel phallus the unusual festival has become a tourist attraction attracting many overseas visitors and is used to raise money for HIV charities. Phallus shaped candy, carved vegetables, decorations, and a big parade are all part of the festival. (Photo by DELETREE/SIPA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Festival goer with phallus logo t-shirt during the Kanamara Matsuri Steel Phallus Festival at Kawasaki, Japan on April 2, 2017. The Kanamara Matsuri or Festival of the Steel Phallus is held on the first Sunday of April at the Kanayama shrine. The shrine celebrates a legend of a steel pen*s and was frequented by prostitutes who wished to pray for protection from sexually transmitted diseases. Visitors now wish for easy delivery, marriage and matrimonial harmony. Because of the large steel phallus the unusual festival has become a tourist attraction attracting many overseas visitors and is used to raise money for HIV charities. Phallus shaped candy, carved vegetables, decorations, and a big parade are all part of the festival. (Photo by DELETREE/SIPA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)
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04 Apr 2017 09:48:00