General view of “Marie Claire” Magazine Film Exhibition at Oquendo street during 59th San Sebastian Film Festival on September 22, 2011 in San Sebastian, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

A stunning photographic collection featuring portraits of people from 30 countries and the food they eat in one day. In this fascinating study of people and their diets, 80 profiles are organized by the total number of calories each person puts away in a day. Featuring a Japanese sumo wrestler, a Massai herdswoman, world-renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adria, an American competitive eater, and more, these compulsively readable personal stories also include demographic particulars, including age, activity level, height, and weight. Essays from Harvard primatologist Richard Wrangham, journalist Michael Pollan, and others discuss the implications of our modern diets for our health and for the planet. This compelling blend of photography and investigative reportage expands our understanding of the complex relationships among individuals, culture, and food.

The coffin containing the body of Pope John Paul II is exhumed ahead of his beatification at Vatican Basilica on April 29, 2011 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope John Paul II will be beatified by Benedict XVI in a ceremony at the Vatican on Sunday. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images)

A model walks the runway during the Jean Paul Gaultier Ready to Wear Spring / Summer 2012 show during Paris Fashion Week on October 1, 2011 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Protest posters are attached to the walls surrounding the “Occupy London” camp outside St. Paul's Cathedral on November 01, 2011 in London, England. The Dean of St. Pauls Cathedral The Very Reverend Graeme Knowles resigned yesterday over the church's handling of the anti-capitalist “Occupy London” demonstration, which continues to occupy the grounds outside the cathedral. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has spent the last six years working on a giant aircraft capable of launching rockets to space. Today, his company Stratolaunch Systems literally rolled that plane out of its hangar in the Mojave Desert for the first time ever.

Artist Ted Harrison makes final adjustments to his artwork created with poppies on the floor of St. Paul's Cathedral on November 10, 2011 in London, England. Mr. Harrison created the work on a 30 foot disc under the main dome of the cathedral with the intention of drawing attention to the 250,000 children worldwide currently under military orders. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

There are many types of collections. Some are formed by purposefully collecting certain objects, such as stamps or coins. However, some collections are only a byproduct of an obsession, a quirk of mind. For example, Paul Brockmann got into the habit of buying his girlfriend and later his wife a dress every time they went ballroom dancing. It might seem excessive to some, but it was his way of showing his affection. Overtime, this collection grew to be enormous, counting 55,000 dresses in total. Basic math tells us that either they went ballroom dancing three times per day for every day of their lives, or he bought them in huge bundles every time.