Loading...
Done
Ophiocordyceps Sinensis A.K.A. Caterpillar Fungus

“There are over 680 documented species of the sac fungus genus Ophiocordyceps, and one of the best known of these is Ophiocordyceps sinensis, colloquially known as caterpillar fungus. The fungus is known in Tibetan as yartsa gunbu or yatsa gunbu. O. sinensis is known in the West as a medicinal mushroom and its use has a long history in Traditional Chinese medicine as well as Traditional Tibetan medicine. The highly valuable fungus-caterpillar combination is hand-collected and is used as an aphrodisiac and as a treatment for a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Nomads dig for Chinese caterpillar fungus from a mountain May 25, 2007 in Guide County, Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Nomads can earn about 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan (about U.S. $260 to $653 ) through their work during the fifty-day Chinese caterpillar fungus gathering season. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
Details
26 Sep 2011 10:47:00
Photos taken by photographer Sarah Lee show the beautiful sight of Manta Rays at night, as they swim with America explorer, Alison Teal. (Photo by Sarah Lee/Caters News Agency)

Photographs show an adventurer swimming with giant Manta Rays at night. In her latest daring adventure, Alison Teal set out in the middle of the night to free dive with Manta Rays off the coast of Hawaii. Using only hand held dive lights, Alison dove over 50 feet down being careful never to touch the mantas as they fed off the plankton in the light streams. Here: Photos taken by photographer Sarah Lee show the beautiful sight of Manta Rays at night, as they swim with America explorer, Alison Teal. (Photo by Sarah Lee/Caters News Agency)
Details
09 Feb 2017 00:01:00
Heads of love dolls are seen on the shelf on March 9, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. Japan's oldest and largest “love doll” maker Orient Industry, has been producing silicone love dolls since 1977, and has seen there is a trend for intimate relationships with silicone dolls in Japan. The Orient Industry's factory produces approximately 500 life size hand-made per year, and one doll, costs up to 600,000JPY (approx. 6,000 USD), takes four to five weeks to be finished. Originally, the company was marketing love dolls for disabled people, and the company continues to support the community by providing discounts and consulting their sexual urges. (Photo by Taro Karibe/Getty Images)

Heads of love dolls are seen on the shelf on March 9, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. Japan's oldest and largest “love doll” maker Orient Industry, has been producing silicone love dolls since 1977, and has seen there is a trend for intimate relationships with silicone dolls in Japan. (Photo by Taro Karibe/Getty Images)
Details
18 Mar 2017 10:32:00
Mohammad Ashgar, 65, an Indian rickshaw puller, poses for a photograph next to his rickshaw in Kolkata on April 21, 2018. A mainstay of 19 th century transportation options, the hand- pulled rickshaw survives in India only in Kolkata after being outlawed elsewhere. The local puller's union puts the number of pullers in the city at 3,000. The union has resisted all previous attempts to ban their livelihood, previously organising mass protests of their members against moves to stamp out the practice. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

Ahead of May Day, AFP' s video and photo teams spoke to men and women around the globe whose jobs are becoming increasingly rare, particularly as technology transforms societies. Here: Mohammad Ashgar, 65, an Indian rickshaw puller, poses for a photograph next to his rickshaw in Kolkata on April 21, 2018. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)
Details
02 May 2018 00:01:00


Two Teddy Bears from the 1920's sit on display in the museum section of the Merrythought Teddy Bear shop on April 5, 2011 in Ironbridge, England. Established in 1930, Merrythought has been hand-making Teddy Bears for over 80 years in Shropshire. The family-run company is the last remaining British teddy bear factory and is launching its latest limited edition bear to mark the royal wedding. The Commemorative Royal Wedding bear is limited to 75 and comes after its popular Prince William and Catherine Middleton bears completely sold out. Merrythought has also been selected by the London Olympic Games organisers to produce the official teddy bears of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Details
06 Apr 2011 10:27:00


“The aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth and a special thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unusual method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts its narrow middle finger to pull the grubs out. The only other animal species known to find food in this way is the striped possum. From an ecological point of view the aye-aye fills the niche of a woodpecker as it is capable of penetrating wood to extract the invertebrates within”. – Wikipedia

Photo: In this handout image from Bristol Zoo is seen the first captive bred aye-aye in the UK named “Kintana” (meaning star in Malagasy) April 15, 2005 at Bristol Zoo Gardens, England. The zoo announced today only the second baby aye-aye to be hand-reared in the world (the first was in Jersey Zoo) and has now made his first public appearance since his birth on 11 February 2005. (Photo by Rob Cousins/Bristol Zoo via Getty Images)
Details
13 Apr 2011 13:33:00
Eton Wall Game

“The Eton wall game is a game similar to football and Rugby Union, that originated from and is still played at Eton College. It is played on a strip of ground 5 metres wide and 110 metres long next to a slightly curved brick wall, erected in 1717”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The “Collegers” and the “Oppidans” of Eton College take part in the “Wall Game” as boys in their traditional school uniform watch from on top of the wall on November 17, 2007 in Eton, near Windsor, Berkshire, England. The first recorded “Wall Game” took place in 1766 with competition between the two houses at the boarding school remaining as fierce as ever on the annual St. Andrew's day event. The object of the game is to get the ball to either end of the wall and score a goal, which has not happened since 1909. As well as scoring a goal the players can win points with a “shy”, where the ball is held against the wall and touched by the hand and awarded one point. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Details
22 Sep 2011 11:01:00
A woman is helped with adorning her hair with jewelry, part of the traditional clothing known as “Pollera”, before the annual Thousand Polleras parade in Las Tablas, in the province of Los Santos January 10, 2015. According to local residents, the Pollera dates back to the 18th century and was worn by the Spanish lower classes. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

A woman is helped with adorning her hair with jewelry, part of the traditional clothing known as “Pollera”, before the annual Thousand Polleras parade in Las Tablas, in the province of Los Santos January 10, 2015. According to local residents, the Pollera dates back to the 18th century and was worn by the Spanish lower classes. Today, it has become the Panamanian national costume. The dress is made entirely by hand and the jewellery worn is pure gold and worth thousands of dollars. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)
Details
12 Jan 2015 15:46:00