Guests on the terrace of Shepheard's Hotel, Cairo, circa 1940. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

“Itasha (痛車), literally “painmobile”, is a Japanese term for an otaku fad of individuals decorating the bodies of their cars with fictional characters of anime, manga, or video games (especially bishōjo game or eroge). These characters are predominately “cute” female. The decorations usually involve paint schemes and stickers. Automobiles are called Itasha, while similar motorcycles and bicycles are called itansha (痛単車) and itachari (痛チャリ), respectively”. – Wikipedia


Photo: A visitor takes pictures of an anime-decorated «Itasha» car displayed during the “Moe Fes in Washimiya” at Washimiya Town Hall on July 18, 2009 in Washimiya, Saitama, Japan. Itasha, a word derived from “itai” (painful) and “sha” (car), are vehicles decorated with mostly female characters from Japanese manga, anime and video games. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama watches as Joey Hudy (L), 14, from Phoenix, Arizona pumps the Extreme Marshmallow Cannon he invented, while touring student science fair projects on exhibit in the State Dining Room at the White House February 7, 2012 in Washington, DC. Obama hosted the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. (Photo by Molly Riley-Pool/Getty Images)

“The Songkran festival is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia. The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water upon others. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns. In addition, many Thais will have small bowls of beige colored talc sold cheaply and mixed with water which is then smeared on the faces and bodies of random passerbys as a blessing for the new year” – Wikipedia. (Photo by Seua Yai)

These horses are pictured in the Khentii province in eastern Mongolia during the Winter Horse Festival – where skillful horsemen gather to challenge the strength of their horses and show off their riding skills. Pictures were taken by Batzaya Choijiljav, a travel company director from Mongolia. Here: The fur of a horse ices up in the –40 cold of Mongolia. (Photo by Batzaya Choijiljav/Caters News)

America may be a nation obsessed with automobiles, but today the bicycle is giving the car a run for its money. And while New York is just one of many cities that is implementing new bikefriendly policies, the local cyclist population stands out as one of the most diverse, inventive, and stylish in the world.

What do superheroes do when they’re not busy fighting bad guys and saving the world from destruction? Perhaps they’re drawing strength alone in the peace and quiet of the great outdoors. That’s the premise of French photographer Benoit Lapray‘s photo-manipulation series “The Quest for the Absolute.”