“Touring the Koko-en Gardens adjacent to the Himeji castle was an unexpected highlight of our visit”, wrote Jeff Solar, 64, of Silver Spring, Md., about his trip to Japan. “The fall colors were outstanding and the gardens were both amazing and a bargain (just a few Yen added to the cost of the Himeji Castle admission)”. (Photo by Jeff Solar/2017 Washington Post Travel Photo Contest)

People explore the ice covered pier in Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada, on December 27, 2022. The ice formations were created by a large winter storm which hit the region on over the Christmas weekend. Temperatures were expected to moderate across the eastern and midwest US on December 27, after days of freezing weather from "the blizzard of the century" left at least 49 dead and caused Christmas travel chaos. (Photo by Geoff Robins/AFP Photo)

A Palestinian woman flashes a V-sign towards Israeli troops during an army raid in the Tulkarem refugee camp, West Bank, Wednesday, January 17, 2024. An Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinians during a raid in the West Bank. The military says it targeted a group of militants who had opened fire and were throwing explosives at Israeli soldiers in the Tulkarem refugee camp. The Palestinian Health Ministry says four people were killed. (Photo by Nasser Nasser/AP Photo)

An orphaned 11 month old cougar cub plays at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on April 26, 2007 in Vallejo, California. Three cougar cubs were given to the park from the Idaho Fish & Game in March after they were found motherless in the wild and it was determined that they would not survive in the wild. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

Protestors affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement block the entrance to the Iowa Democratic Party headquarters during a protest on December 29, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa. Thirteen people were arrested during the protest. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

These tiny little sugar gliders are lucky to be alive after surviving a cat attack that killed their mother. Somehow the youngsters, who were just a few days old at the time, and the size of jellybeans, survived and were rushed to the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital in Queensland, Australia. (Photo by Adam Head/Newspix/REX Features)

A police officer fires tear gas at protesters after the presidential election results were announced in Kisumu, Kenya on August 15, 2022. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinian members of al-Agha family, who were killed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 11, 2023. (Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)