Hot air balloons fly over the sky in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, December 6, 2014. The two-day International Balloon festival 2014 featuring balloon pilots from Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Britain, and Czech Republic is held on December 06-07 2014 to celebrate Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 87th birthday and also aimed to promote the tourism industry in Chiang Mai northern city. (Photo by Pongmanat Tasiri/EPA)

In this photograph taken on February 18, 2016, Pakistani children ride on swings in the predominantly Pashtun Korangi District of Karachi. In a rundown district of Karachi, Rabia balks at a neighbour's proposal to vaccinate her children, demonstrating one of the biggest hurdles to eradicating polio in Pakistan by the end of the year: confused and frightened parents. (Photo by Asif Hassan/AFP Photo)

British rally driver Kris Meeke jumps his Citroen over a brow during the fifth special stage of the World Rally Championship (WRC) Rally of Australia, near Bellingen on the New South Wales central coast on September 12, 2014. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

George R.R. Martin, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and other cast and crew of Game of Thrones have faced the winds of winter – or anyway, a bucket of ice water – with the popular charity challenge. HBO’s Game of Thrones gives fans chills in every episode. But as the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS research has exploded across the internet, the cast and crew of the shocking show gave themselves goosebumps as they stepped up to get soaked.

The illustrations created by Joao Carvalho are not just simple 3D drawings. By making it look as if various characters were drawn on regular note book paper, Joao fools our minds into thinking that the flat objects we see on the picture are actually 3-dimentional. To create these pieces of art, Joao first draws the lines of the “notebook” paper already bent, as if they stretch over the object that is about to be drawn. Then he applies shading and his masterpiece is all done! By looking at his pictures it is almost impossible to view them not as simple 2D drawings, but as real 3D objects. (Photo by Joao Desenhos)

Photographer Maurizio Pignotti, 46, spends all night in freezing temperatures painstakingly shooting the breathtaking crystal-clear stars. He uses a technique where he merges together anywhere between 80 and 450 shots to create what he describes as a “rainbow of stars”. Space-lover Maurizio, captures the star trails on the borders of the Adriatic Sea – including the Sibillini Mountains National Park, the Conero National Park, and the Gargano National Park. (Photo by Maurizio Pignotti/Caters News)

Artist Victor Nunes combines every-day objects with simple illustrations to turn them into pictures of faces, animals and other playful scenes. His images invite us to look at the world differently and find creative images in our surroundings. Nunes’ art is a great example of pareidolia, which is our propensity to give meaning to random objects (like in this post about seeing faces in random objects). It’s the reason why we associate a smiley face with a human face and why some of Nunes’ pieces of popcorn or bread resemble faces to us.

These tiny piglets were born and raised at Pennywell Farm in Buckfastleigh, England. Micro or miniature pigs grow to just 14 inches long, and weigh only 9 ounces when they are born. At two years old, they are fully grown and weigh between 40-65 pounds and are around knee height at 12-16 inches tall. Micro pigs can live for up to 18 years, and make popular pets as they are low maintenance, quiet and surprisingly clean. (Photo by Richard Austin/AP Photo/Rex Features)