Axel Erlandson (December 15, 1884 – April 28, 1964) was a Swedish American farmer who shaped trees as a hobby, and opened a horticultural attraction in 1947 advertised as "See the World's Strangest Trees Here," and named "The Tree Circus."
The trees appeared in the column of Robert Ripley's Believe It or Not! twelve times. Erlandson sold his attraction shortly before his death. The trees were moved to Gilroy Gardens in 1985.

For the Torajan people of Indonesia, death is part of a spiritual journey: families keep the mummified remains of their deceased relatives in their homes for years – and traditionally invite them to join for lunch on a daily basis – before they are eventually buried. Here: Todeng died in 2009. A young relative of his, Sam, lights him a cigarette and changes his glasses. (Photo by Claudio Sieber Photography/The Guardian)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrives at the Christchurch Airport on June 7, 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Dalai Lama requested a visit to Christchurch ahead of his Australian tour to see damaged caused by the February earthquake that devastated the city. He will speak and offer prayers at a free public event at Canterbury Arena on Wednesday. (Photo by Martin Hunter/Getty Images)

Sydneysiders walk amongst tar figures placed in the CBD to raise awareness about the damage smoking causes to the body at Martin Place on June 30, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. Each of the tar figures represent the profile of smokers, from the casual weekend smoker to the one with a lifelong addiction. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

Pedestrians are falling after a gust of wind in Munich southern Germany, Tuesday, March 31, 2015. One of the strongest storm fronts in years hit Germany on Tuesday, as Storm “Niklas” uncovered roofs, toppled scaffolding and caused severe disruption to rail services. (Photo by Sven Hoppe/AP Photo/DPA)

Photographer Anna Radchenko explores this theme in her project “Reverse Side of a Mother’s Love,” where mother love becomes more than just mother-daughter relationship and causes some strange feelings. She visualizes, sadly, typical psychological problems in parent-child relationship: unrealized wishes of the parents, excessive strictness, total control and overprotection.

Photographer Mark Tipple captured the underwater pictures with his friend Mike as the surfer. But the rough waves of the coast of the Cook Islands slammed Mike into the sea bed during the shoot, causing him to slice his skin open and badly bruise his body. Photo: Mike diving beneath a shallow wave. (Photo by Mark Tipple/Caters News Agency)

A woman talks on her cellphone as she walks around Tajrish commercial district without wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf in northern Tehran, Iran, Saturday, April 29, 2023. More women are choosing not to wear the mandatory headscarf, or the hijab, publicly in Iran. Such open defiance of the law follows months of protests over the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the country's morality police, for wearing her hijab too loosely. (Photo by Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)