“NASA's Pathfinder, Pathfinder Plus, Centurion and Helios Prototype were an evolutionary series of solar- and fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicles under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. They were built to develop the technologies that would allow long-term, high-altitude aircraft to serve as “atmospheric satellites”, to perform atmospheric research tasks as well as serve as communications platforms”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The solar-electric Helios Prototype flying wing is flies over the Hawaiian islands of Niihau and Lehua during the first solar-powered test flight July 14, 2001 from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, HI. The 18-hour flight was a functional checkout of the aircraft's systems and performance in preparation for an attempt to reach sustained flight at 100,000 feet altitude later in the summer. (Photo Courtesy of NASA/Getty Images)

“Dog meat refers to edible parts and the flesh derived from (predominantly domestic) dogs. Human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including ancient China, ancient Mexico, and ancient Rome. According to contemporary reports, dog meat is consumed in a variety of countries such as Switzerland, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Korea. In addition, dog meat has also been used as survival food in times of war and/or other hardships”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A chef prepares dog meat at a restaurant on July 4, 2005 in Gwacheon, South Korea. Dog meat is a traditional dish in Korea dating back to the Samkuk period (period of the three kingdoms BC 57 – AD 668). Although many recipes existed historically for dog meat, now chefs only make soups, or dishes using boiled or roasted meat. Koreans traditionally eat dog meat on the hottest day of the summer, for it's reputed benefits of virility, invigoration and health. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

“Nomascus is the second most speciose genus of gibbons (family Hylobatidae). Originally this genus was a subgenus of Hylobates, and all individuals were considered one species, Hylobates concolor. Species within Nomascus are characterized by 52 chromosomes. Some species are all black, some light with a distinct black tuft of crown fur, and some by distinct, light-colored cheek patches. Nomascus is found from southern China (Yunnan) to southern Vietnam, and also on Hainan Island. One of the genus' species, Nomascus nasutus, has been deemed “the most critically endangered ape species in the world”. All of the species in this genus are endangered or critically endangered”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A newborn White-Cheeked Gibbon clings to its mother in the Nanning Zoo on April 12, 2004 in Nanning, Guangxi province, China. The White-Cheeked Gibbon's natural habitat is Southern China as well as Vietnam and Laos. They are classified as highly endangered and are on the brink of extinction due to poaching and reduction of natural rainforests. (Photo by Getty Images)

A female participant armed with a bottle of ketchup attacks in the annual Vegetable Battle in Kreuzberg district near Oberbaumbruecke Bridge on August 28, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The event pits Kreuzberg district residents againts Friedrichshain district residents for control of the Oberbaumbruecke, and the two sides pelt each other with rotten vegetables, other foods, ketchup, water guns and styrofoam bats until one side has pushed the other from the bridge. The event had originally been cancelled for today, but so many participants showed up anyway and began battling on the Kreuzberg side, where the situation escalated and began to threaten traffic, that police relented and let them later battle it out on the bridge. Kreuzberg claimed victory. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

“Tomotaka Takahashi (born March 27, 1975), roboticist and founder of Kyoto University's ROBO-GARAGE since 1999, creates humanoid robots known for their smooth, fluid motions and sleek appearance. Creating a number of humanoid robots entirely by himself, from concept through to production, Takahashi's designs have been featured in art exhibitions celebrating the creation of Astroboy, Time Magazine's Coolest Inventions of 2004, and promotions for Bandai, Panasonic, and Pepsi”. – Wikipedia

Photo: One of Japan's leading robot creator's Tomotaka Takahashi holds Robo Garage's Chroino and FT during the Robo_Japan 2008 Press Preview at Pacifico Yokohama on October 10, 2008 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)

America’s Haunts, a trade association, estimates there are 1,200 for-profit haunted attractions in the U.S. plus another 3,000 haunted houses operated by charities that open for only a day or two every year. The commercial attractions collectively bring in from $300 million to $500 million annually. Fright Nights attendees make a turn through one of four haunted houses at this year's spooking season setup at the South Florida Fairgrounds. This house is named The Smiths and was created by Craig McInnis. (Photo by The Palm Beach Post)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

How sure are you of your geographical knowledge? Buzzfeed recently put Americans’ geographical knowledge to the test with a survey in which participants had to write in countries’ names on a blank European political map. Unfortunately, they didn’t fare too well, but some of their responses are hilarious (or hilariously mis-informed). But don’t be so quick to judge Americans – when Buzzfeed posted a similar survey testing Brits’ knowledge of the 50 United States, they also came up short. On the one hand, knowing a country’s states is different from knowing independent countries, but on the other, some U.S. states are larger than some European nations, and some U.S. states have larger economies than some European nations.