It is said that Torajans are people who “live to die”. For this Indonesian ethnic group, funerals are such extravagant events that they sometimes attract tourists. Families can postpone burials years (and the deceased are considered sick and hosted at home until the funeral) until the family can raise enough money and gather as many relatives as possible. And then it’s a jubilant multiday social event with a parade, dances and animal sacrifices. Agung Parameswara photographed these funerary practices when he traveled to South Sulawesi province, where the Torajans live. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/The Washington Post)

A relative (L) of Champa Devi, 88, sits next to her body, minutes after her death at Mukti Bhavan (Salvation House) at Varanasi, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, June 21, 2014. The city of Varanasi, on the banks of the River Ganges, is widely considered Hinduism's holiest city and many Hindus believe that dying there and having their remains scattered in the Ganges allows their soul to escape a cycle of death and rebirth, attaining “moksha” or salvation. “Mukti Bhavan” or “Salvation House”, is a charity-run hostel that caters for people who wish to come to Varanasi to die. Guests can normally stay up to two weeks after which, if they haven't yet passed away, they are gently asked to leave. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

Artists called “Le couple en chocolat” take part in the festival “Statues en Marche” in Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium, July 22, 2018. Living statues are a common sight in many city centres, but it is rare to see such a diverse range of this peculiar form of street art for which performers must keep still for painfully long periods of time to create the desired illusion. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

An artist takes part in the festival “Statues en Marche” in Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium, July 20, 2019. Living statues are a common sight in many city centers, but it is rare to see such a diverse range of this peculiar form of street art for which performers must keep still for painfully long periods of time to create the desired illusion. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Guest gather in the street as the wait to attend the annual New York City Diner en Blanc, August 22, 2017 held this year at the plaza at Lincoln Center. The Diner en Blanc, the worlds only viral culinary event, a chic secret pop-up style picnic from France, the outdoor site – always a landmark location – is revealed at the last-minute. Guests are asked to dress entirely in elegant white, bring a picnic basket of food, fine china and silverware, white tablecloths, table and chairs. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

A dead sperm whale is seen on the beach on March 18, 2012 in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province of China. Four giant sperm whales, which were found beached on the beach of Xintan Salt Field on Friday, died on Saturday despite rescue efforts. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress)

The book “Elektroschutz in 132 Bildern” (Electrical Protection in 132 Pictures) was published in Vienna in the early 1900s by a Viennese physician named Stefan Jellinek (1878-1968, a founder of the Electro-Pathological Museum). The pictures are nice and direct and unambiguous; they teach, graphically, that the surest way to kill yourself with electricity is to form a complete path from source (usually the bright red arrow) to ground (the screened back, pink arrow). Arrowheads provide the path for current flow. (Photo by The Vienna Technical Museum)

Rescue workers help the injured at the site of a multi-storey building collapse in the capital Nairobi, Kenya Sunday, January 4, 2015. The residential building in the Huruma neighborhood of Nairobi collapsed on Sunday and according to the Kenya Red Cross, a dozen people have so far been rescued but an unknown number are still feared trapped. (Photo by AP Photo)