A kitten singed whiskers that survived the McKinney Fire hides in rocks in the Klamath National Forest northwest of Yreka, California, on July 31, 2022. The largest fire in California this year is forcing thousands of people to evacuate as it destroys homes and rips through the state's dry terrain, whipped up by strong winds and lightning storms. The McKinney Fire was zero percent contained, CalFire said, spreading more than 51,000 acres near the city of Yreka. (Photo by David McNew/AFP Photo)

Nine years ago, Tom Carter traveled from San Francisco to China, responding to a job posting that turned out to be a scam. He managed to find another job as a teacher, and saved enough money to embark on a 56,000 km trip through all of China's 33 provinces that lasted two years. Carrying a camera – just a a 4-megapixel point-and-shoot – Carter captured some amazing images of the widely varying landscape, people, and architecture across the nation. Photo: Buddhist pilgrim family from Sichuan. (Photo by Tom Carter via The Atlantic)

A three-month-old Sumatran tiger cub named “Bandar” shows his displeasure after being dunked in the tiger exhibit moat for a swim reliability test at the National Zoo in Washington, on November 6, 2013. All cubs born at the zoo must take a swim test before being allowed to roam in the exhibit. Bandar passed his test. (Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press)

“Kilauea Rules”. The most extreme place we put ours kayakers to paddle till now. Photo location: Big Island, Hawaii. (Photo and caption by Alexandre Socci/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A pangolin carries its baby at a Bali zoo, Indonesia, Thursday, June 19, 2014. The pangolin baby was born on May 31. (Photo by Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo)

Surfer Hannah Cornett attends The 2014 ESPYS at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 16, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Tomomi Ota pushes a trolley loaded with her humanoid robot Pepper as she crosses a street in Omotesando shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 24 March 2016. Telecommunications and mobile phone carrier SoftBank Corp. opened a robot-staffed store where 10 Pepper humanoid robots welcome customers looking to buy a mobile phone. The store will be opened until 30 March 2016. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA)

A child plays beside an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, the day after it was immersed in the Yamuna river for the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Delhi, India September 6, 2017. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)