A sailor of the Marshal Shaposhnikov anti-submarine destroyer takes part in the “Vostok-2022” military exercises at the Peter the Great Gulf of the Sea of Japan outside the city of Vladivostok on September 5, 2022. The Vostok 2022 military exercises, involving several Kremlin-friendly countries including China, takes place from September 1-7 across several training grounds in Russia's Far East and in the waters off it. Over 50,000 soldiers and more than 5,000 units of military equipment, including 140 aircraft and 60 ships, are involved in the drills. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)

A group of boys toss their friend into the water at Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States on June 25, 2024. New England temperatures reached into the high 80's(F) and low 90's(F) this week after a heatwave brought temperatures close to 100(F) last week. Heat domes causing heatwaves have been hitting the US over the past week with high alerts placed in the I-95 corridor on the East Coast. The National weather service has predicted above-normal temperatures for most the US for the month of July. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Members of the police forces of the Republic of Srpska march during a parade marking the 32nd anniversary of the Republic of Srpska, in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Tuesday, January 9, 2024. The United States on Tuesday warned that ongoing celebrations of a Bosnian Serb self-proclaimed national holiday were in violation of Bosnia's constitution and a 1995 peace agreement, and as such amounted to a criminal offense. The Jan. 9 holiday commemorates the date in 1992 when Bosnian Serbs declared the creation of their own state in Bosnia, igniting the country's devastating four-year war that killed more than 100,000 people. (Photo by Radivoje Pavicic/AP Photo)

You have to agree, that most of the designs of the license plates in the United States are pretty boring and bland. In most cases, a three-year-old could have done a better job. This is the reason why Jonathan Lawrence has decided to create a project of redesigning the license plates of all 50 states. His designs feature fresh vibrant colors, as well as clean and readable design. These are the license plates you’d want to use if you have anything that is better than a rundown, old pickup truck (no offence to owners of rundown, old pickup trucks). Some of his designs are humorous, some are strict and official; however, all of them look better than the license plates that are in circulation today. (Photo by Jonathan Lawrence)

An Armatix employee holds a “smart gun” by the company at the Armatix headquarters in Munich May 14, 2014. The gun is implanted with an electronic chip that allows it to be fired only if the shooter is wearing a watch that communicates with it through a radio signal. If the gun is moved more than 10 inches (25 cm) from the watch, it will not fire. A Maryland gun shop owner has dropped his plan to be the first in the United States to sell the so-called “smart gun” after a backlash that included death threats. (Photo by Michael Dalder/Reuters)

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.

Biologists Jenna Cormany (L) and Lauryn Wright of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources help to release a leatherback turtle in Isle of Palms, South Carolina March 12, 2015. The 475-pound turtle was the first living leatherback turtle to be recovered in South Carolina and one of only a handful ever treated at rehabilitation facilities in the United States. It was found March 7 on the beach on Yawkey-South Island Reserve, a 3.5-mile-long (5.6-km-long) barrier island and wildlife preserve near Georgetown, South Carolina. (Photo by Randall Hill/Reuters)

A woman takes cover as shots are fired by police officers as they face off with stone-throwing protesters, during an anti-government demonstration in Bujumbura, Burundi, 20 May 2015. Police officers fired shots and teargas canisters in running battles with protesters who demonstrated against Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term. Presidential spokesman man said on 20 May that the country will postpone its parliamentary and local council elections, previously scheduled for 26 May, to 05 June 2015. According to the United Nations' refugee agency, more than 105,000 Burndians have fled the country to seek refuge in neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, DR Congo, and Tanzania. (Photo by Dai Kurokawa/EPA)