(Photo: unknown)

Pandas were an endangered species. Now anyone who opposes them faces extinction. Beware of Mecha Panda, whom The Womb Mates refers to as “Godzilla’s next opponent.”

-via The Geek Twins

(Image: NOAA)

On Wednesday, an enormous shark-shaped storm system formed over the central and eastern United States, devouring parts of Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia before swallowing the entire Washington, D.C. area. The sharknado was last seen heading across the Atlantic for a larger meal.

-via Dave Barry

Flickr user Ron Brinkmann built a cube using six square mirrors with the reflective sides facing inward. To capture the view inside the cube, he placed a camera inside with its timer set to shoot. The resulting photographs are beautiful 'infinite" reflections, one of which (third one down) reminds me of The Matrix. See more of Brinkmann's photos at his Flickr page. Via Viral Nova.

Images Credit: Ron Brinkmann

(Photo: Shubhra Gupta)

There's dire news from India. The newspaper The Indian Express warns us that "headline awaited." It declared this fact in all eight regional editions, indicating that the entire nation faces this crisis. Blah, blah, blah.

Or, more likely, the editors were unsure who was going to win the national election on that day. It is a less erroneous headline than the infamous "Dewey Defeats Truman" from the 1952 US Presidential election.

(Photo: Harry S. Truman Museum)

-via Jonah Goldberg

(Photo: Epizentrum)

This is Frankfurt, Germany. The Eschenheimer Turm is the shorter of the two towers that you see in the center of this photo. Upon its completion in 1428, this tower was a strongpoint in the city’s defensive plan. It’s 154 feet high and has 10 accessible levels. The tower was originally part of a broad wall. Builders placed a portcullis in it to make entrance into the inner city defensible.

It’s now a restaurant.

Behind the Eschenheimer Turm is the Nextower, a 446-foot tall office building built in 2009. As far as I can determine, it does not have a portcullis.

That seems like a major oversight.

-via Twisted Sifter

According to redditor Ferroxen, this door is the entrance to a parkour gym in Malmö, Sweden. It's for beginners. A real parkour gym is entered only through a ventilation duct on the roof.

-via Super Punch

In the flamingo enclosure at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, a lone goose tries her best to fit in. Her legs are bit short, and she doesn’t have the pink feathers or the knobby knees of her companions, but she’s giving that one-legged stance her best efforts. Redditor pixel-freak snapped this picture while visiting with his wife and two-year-old son. 

A lot of what the viewer perceives to be happening in a photograph depends on the angle of the shot, shoot from up high and things get smaller and people look thinner, shoot from down low and figures become menacing and appeear bigger.

Combine just the right angle with elements in the shot that trick the eye and you've got a whole new tale to tell, a photo story where things get downright strange!

This series of 18 Photos Taken At Just The Right Angle is brought to you by Pleated Jeans, who reminds you that life is far stranger than it seems, so make sure you bring your camera along for the ride!

(Images Via Rafal Milach)

The saying “once a clown, always a clown” aptly describes the art of clowning because it comes straight from the heart for those who see it as more than just an outfit to wear while twisting balloons.

For over 40 years those who wanted to study clowning in Poland went to the Julinek school, which operated like a giant circus in the middle of Kampinoski National Park. The park has been closed for over a decade now, and many of the clowns who once squeaked around the school are now retired as well.

Photographer Rafal Milach captures poignant portraits of these retired Polish clowns in their homes, and occasionally in the ruins of the school itself, in a series called "Disappearing Circus" which is full of raw emotion and just a touch of creepiness.

-Via AnimalNY

The cherry blossoms are in bloom in Japan. Hirosaki Castle, a Seventeenth Century castle on the northern end of Honshu, is considered one of the best places in the country to see them.

There’s a moat around the castle. Twitter user @WizardsTools snapped this spectacular photo of the moat covered with a layer of cherry blossoms. You can see more photos of the castle during cherry blossom season here.

-via Twisted Sifter

When many people hear the name Coney Island they think of beachside fun, amusement park rides and sideshow acts, but personally the Warriors always seems to spring to mind, and then the whole place seems somehow terrifying.

Truth is, Coney Island is both entertaining and frightening, charming and creepy in a uniquely Coney way, and back in the day it was the go-to destination for many New Yorkers looking for a mini vacay, and boy do those vintage hotspots make for great photo ops!

The photos in this particular series were taken by shutterbug Aaron Rose in the 1960s, part of an exhibition showing at the Museum of the City of New York called “In A World Of Their Own: Coney Island Photographs By Aaron Rose”.

-Via AnimalNY

Can you gaze into a woman's eyes and see love? Well, you can if you're near the mother of YouTube member LivingOak. Well, one of her eyes. She popped a blood vessel, which now spells the word "love."

(Video Link)

-via Yababoon

(Photo: Brian G. Kennedy)

You've got to adapt to survive and the Jungle Crow is a survivor. Amusing Planet reports that many of these birds live in Fukuoka City, Japan. They're open minded about building materials. Some freely use coat hangers left outside:

In such a large city, there are few trees, so the natural materials that crows need to make their nests are scarce. As a result, the crows will often steal hangers from the people who live in apartments nearby, and carefully assemble them into intricate nests. The completed nests almost look like works of art.

Nests built from hangers were also discovered in other Japanese cities. In Fukuoka City, the Jungle Crow would often make nests atop power lines during the breeding season that could cause large blackouts due to short circuiting. The Kyushu Electric power company actually has "crow patrols" that search out and destroy hanger nests on their power grid.

You can see more photos of these nests at Amusing Planet.

-via VA Viper

Browse through a selection of crime scene photos from any major city and you’ll find a bunch of locations that look familiar, since most major cities have a degree of similarity to their architecture and layout.

However, if you superimpose them over a photo of the location in present day you’ll see a rich story unfolding about a city’s history, and the sordid crimes committed on those mean streets.

Historian at the New York Press Photographers Association Marc A. Hermann has been busy compositing vintage crime scene and modern photos together in an interesting series that reveals New York's colorful- New York City then & now: Famous Daily News photos brought back to life.

-Via Dangerous Minds

New Orleans is a mysterious city full of dark folklore, a shadowy past, and yearly events full of drunken debauchery and things you cannot unsee, but for many the highlight of visiting the Big Easy is the city itself.

Boasting an extremely diverse range of architectural styles, from Creole cottages to shotgun houses and bungalows, New Orleans is a great place to take in the sights- especially in the still of the night.

Photographer Frank Relle rediscovered a deep love for his hometown of New Orleans after graduating college, so he decided to share his love of the Big Easy by taking long exposure nighttime photographs. They're eerie, visually compelling and full of unique charm- just like the City That Care Forgot.

-Via Juxtapoz