People walk behind the Medusa head in the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, Turkey, 24 July 2022. The site has been restored by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and is now open for visitors again. The Byzantine structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The underground Basilica, also called Underground Cistern, is the largest well preserved cistern in Istanbul, which rests on a total of 336 columns. According to historical texts, more than 7,000 slaves were involved in the construction of the cistern. (Photo by Sedat Suna/EPA/EFE)

From footballs to live fish, delivery mopeds piled high with unwieldy, unlikely goods are one of the Vietnamese capital’s most distinctive sights. As the city plans to ban motorbikes altogether, photographer Jon Enoch captured the drivers at work. (Photo by Jon Enoch/The Guardian)

Snakes wearing hats is now an internet meme and it’s kind of cute but also kind of terrifying. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think there’s anything more evil than a giant cartoon snake wearing a bowler hat – the hat just makes it even more sinister. As you can see below, some of these snakes look cool and cute, but some of them are pretty frightening. Either way the addition of a dumb hat definitely has an effect on them. I definitely won’t be getting a pet snake any time soon.

California-based glass artist Loren Stump specializes in a form of glasswork called murrine, where rods of glass are melted together and then sliced to reveal elaborate patterns and forms. While the murrina process appeared in the Mideast some 4,000 years ago, Stump has perfected his own technique over the past 35 years to the point where he can now layer entire portraits and paintings in glass before slicing them to see the final results. His most complex piece to date is a detailed interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks, which involved hundreds of glass components that were melted into a final piece.

In order to celebrate Movember (mustache November), artist and blogger Adam Ellis slapped handsome, flowing beards onto some of Disney’s most famous princesses. The idea came to him when a fan commented on a bearded picture he had made of Belle from Beauty and the Beast. One bearded princess became twelve, and now this strange image series is all over the web.
For more art inspired by Disney’s beautiful damsels, check out Dina Goldstein’s pictures of real-life Disney princesses and these pictures of Grumpy Cat in the Disney universe.

A woman walks past a painting by Jenny Saville entitled “Red Stare Head IV” on display in the Royal Academy of Arts' Summer Exhibition on June 2, 2011 in London, England. The Summer Exhibition is the world's largest open submission contemporary art show, now in its 243rd year, with over 12,000 entries received from 27 countries. The exhibition features over 1100 works of art including: painting, sculpture, photography, architecture and film, it officially opens to the public on June 7, 2011. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Elements of nature are too powerful for humans to subdue, yet it didn’t stop the most courageous individuals from trying. Conquering air, land, fire, water, and even the very fabric of reality – this is the ultimate goal of humanity. For now, we can only marvel at the beauty and tremble in awe before the Mother Nature. A short film “Ocean Gravity,” written and directed by Julie Gautier and Guillaume Nery, reminds us of how small and insignificant a human body is, as it is being swept away by an ocean current. Nevertheless, it never stopped people from attempting to subjugate these unstoppable forces, and someday, maybe the humanity will come out victorious.