During a jungle survival program February 20, 2013 taught by Royal Thai Special Forces in Sannapit, Thailand, U.S. Marines learned to catch cobras and drink their fresh blood, not to mention eat forest insects and pull the heads off of chicken. The training was part of Operation Cobra Gold 13, the 32nd edition of international military exercises hosted by the Thai. According to a U.S. Marines press release, Cobra Gold is the largest exercise of its kind in Asia and incorporates troops from five other nations in addition to the U.S. and Thailand. The Daily Mail reports that the Marines were invited to experience the local custom of drinking cobra blood after being taught to catch and kill cobras in the wild. As CNN notes, Cobra blood is believed to be a panacea and aphrodiasic in parts of Southeast Asia. In Jakarta, vendors can earn over $100 a night selling shots of cobra blood mixed with liquor. (Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP Photo)

People walk past a New Year fir tree made of toys at a park in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia January 2, 2017. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Barbara Peacock is one of five recipients of the Getty Images annual Grants for Editorial Photography programme, which gives photojournalists an award of $10,000 as well as the agency’s support in pursuing projects of their choosing. American Bedroom is an ongoing series of portraits in which she explores the complexities and idiosyncrasies of contemporary American life. Here: Jessica, Milford, New Hampshire: “Sometimes life throws you in all sorts of directions. The most important part about life is to remember you are exactly where you need to be”. (Photo by Barbara Peacock/Recipient of the Getty Images Grant for Editorial Photography 2017)

Four pillars of light from the 4 Laser Guide Star Facility on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) are shown reaching into the Chilean night sky in this image from ESO Photo Ambassador Fred Kamphues, on September 2, 2016. The lasers are a key part of the adaptive optics system on the VLT. Adaptive optics allows astronomers to drastically reduce the atmospheric distortion present at even the best sites in the world for astronomy, including Paranal in Chile, the home of the VLT. (Photo by F. Kamphues/ESO)

An F-18 Hornet fighter jet on May 27, 2025 lands and takes off from a highway during Baana 25, a military exercise held by the Finnish air force. (Photo by The Times)

TV personality Kylie Jenner attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)

A niqab-wearing Salafist protester takes a selfie as she attends a demonstration against the ban on the sale and manufacturing of the full-burqa in Rabat January 15, 2017. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)