Texan-born photographer Peter Augustus has challenged our notions of what exactly is in mystery meat with a series of photographs showing the ingredient in its original form.

Los Angeles based MizEnScen is obsessed with doing this. This very cryptic artist is a digital collage/illustration artist who cuts and pastes what looks like imagery from old, forgotten academic texts. She takes them and layers them atop of each other to make sometimes silly portraits to beautifully textured florals growing out of bones.

It's that time of year again when dogs with unusually large heads, hairless bodies and other oddities compete to be the World's Ugliest Dog. This year's winner? A 2-year-old mutt named Peanut, whose wild white and brown hair, bulging eyes and protruding teeth belie his sweet, energetic personality. Peanut's owner, Holly Chandler of Greenville, North Carolina, says he was seriously burned as a puppy and she wants to use her pet to raise awareness about animal abuse. She plans to use the $1,500 prize to pay for other animals' veterinary bills. The contest, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California, is in its 26 year. The dogs are scored by a three-judge panel in several categories, including special or unusual attributes, personality and natural ugliness.

New York-based Latvian photographer Kaija Straumanis has a series of funny, well-timed images that shows various objects being thrown at her head.

Trained by Dutch photographer Ellen van Deelen to hold different musical instruments and pose for the camera, the Roosendaal Rats are considered very talented by their owner. She confesses rats weren’t exactly her favorite creatures, but, after buying these two, she realized they are highly intelligent creatures.