The Spirit of Ecstasy, also called “Emily”, “Silver Lady” or “Flying Lady,” was designed by English sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes and carries with her a story about a secret passion between John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu (second Lord Montagu of Beaulieu after 1905, a pioneer of the automobile movement, and editor of The Car Illustrated magazine) and his love and the model for the emblem, his secretary Eleanor Velasco Thornton. Photo: Worker Ronald Little displays a finished “Spirit of Ecstasy”. (Photo by Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)

The “Dancing With Costica” series began when Australia-based photographer Jane Long decided to brush up on her retouching skills. After finding the Costica Acsinte Archive on Flickr, she became fascinated with the images and their subjects, wanting to bring them to life and give them a story. Here: the Costica photo on the left inspired Jane Long to create her version, titled “Innocence”. (Photo by Costica Acsinte Archive/Jane Long)

Hawa Mahal, which translates as the Palace of Winds, was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. The design of the palace was created by Shreyansh Jain to resemble the crown of Krishna. The design of this unique five-story building is akin to a honeycomb. The main purpose of this building was to allow royal ladies to watch the street below while remaining unseen, since during those times they had a strict code of dressing, which meant covering their faces. The palace was designed to produce the Venturi effect, which created natural air conditioning and kept the interior relatively cool during hot summers.

William Gibson is not one of the authors that spits out novels like a machine – in his long and fruitful career he has only published 11 novels andof short stories and articles in the tens each. Still his impact on modern literature was huge – the “noir prophet” of the cyberpunk subgenre (that he was one of the pioneers of) has predicted the rise of reality television, virtual reality, video games and the internet. He is a Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction writer, with a special eye for what the future might bring.

Cosplay enthusiasts Alex Lawson, 20, attends the North East Manga and Anime Convention (NemaCon) dressed as Hunni Sempai at Middlesborough Town Hall on June 18, 2011 in Middlesbrough, England. Hundreds of Manga, Anime and Cosplay enthusiasts gathered for NemaCon 2011. Cosplay is short for Costume Play where players dress and perform roles from Japanese culture, Anime and Manga art characters. Many subcultures have also evolved inspired by video games, American cartoons and comics. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)