A dog waits as his companion fills out their ballot at Eastern Market in Washington, DC, on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Allison Robbert for The Washington Post)

Looking for a reason to visit the Philippines? This mermaid school should do the trick. No, seriously, there’s an actual school that will teach you how to be a mermaid. It’s called the Philippines Mermaid Swimming Academy. (Photo by Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy/Exclusivepix Media)

American model Bella Hadid shares a behind-the-scenes photo from a lingerie shoot on December 28, 2021. (Photo by bellahadid/Instagram)

Sports Finalist – Ian MacNicol. Michalina Kwasniewska of Poland competes in the Women's high jump during day one of The European Athletics U23 Championships 2013 on July 11, 2013 in Tampere, Finland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Agence France-Presse)

Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

A local boy plays football on Iracema Beach on June 11, 2014 in Fortaleza, Brazil. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

A CatCon attendee poses at CatCon LA 2023 at Pasadena Convention Center on August 06, 2023 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sarah Morris/Getty Images)

At the 50th anniversary of the Hartford Automobile Club a 1914 Mercer with an economical wind screen, looking like a large magnifying glass, designed to offer minimum wind resistance. Brass is used instead of chrome for the “shiny” parts, circa 1955. (Photo by Three Lions)