Then look no further than the finalists of the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025. This year's selection of photographs, whittled down from almost 10,000 entries from amateurs and professionals alike, will raise a smile.
There are also images of a lounging yellow-cheeked gibbon and a dancing mountain gorilla.
The awards, founded in 2015, are aimed at using the power of humour to promote wildlife and habitat conservation.
"These images combine wit and wonder to celebrate nature's character, while emphasising the urgency of conservation," said Nikon Europe senior general manager of marketing Stefan Maier.
"At Nikon, we're proud to support a competition that sparks joy, while reminding us why our wild world is worth protecting,"
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 9 December.
Here is a selection of this year's finalists.
A dinosaur that roamed modern-day Morocco more than 165 million years ago had a neck covered in three-foot long spikes, a weapon on its tail and bony body armor, according to researchers who unearthed the curious beast's remains.
The discovery of the animal Spicomellus in the Moroccan town of Boulemane painted a clearer picture of the bizarre, spiked ankylosaur, which was first described in 2021 based on the discovery of a single rib bone.
Researchers now understand that the four-legged herbivore, which was about the size of a small car, was much more elaborately armored than originally believed, according to research published last month in the journal Nature.
"Spicomellus had a diversity of plates and spikes extending from all over its body, including metre-long neck spikes, huge upwards-projecting spikes over the hips, and a whole range of long, blade-like spikes, pieces of armour made up of two long spikes, and plates down the shoulder," research co-lead Susannah Maidment said in a statement to London's Natural History Museum.
It has appeared in Tesla showrooms, on its factory floors and has even posed with Kim Kardashian.
But Elon Musk's vision for his human-like robot Optimus is much grander than that.
Since first unveiling it at a Tesla showcase in 2022, the tech billionaire has suggested his company's droid could play a huge role in the homes and lives of people all over the world.
Along with self-driving robotaxis and Cybertrucks, Musk believes Tesla robots are key to establishing a foothold in the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape.
And investors who signed off on his $1tn (£760bn) pay package on Thursday would appear to agree.
One of the many tasks Musk must complete to get his whopping pay deal is to deliver a million AI bots over the next decade.
But is Tesla's big bet on humanoid robots rooted in science fiction or reality?
Ambrose, bishop of Milan, was born in Trier of the noble Aurelian family. His mother moved the family to Rome after the death of his father. Educated in rhetoric and law, Ambrose was first employed in Sirmium and then in c. 370 c.e. as governor of Milan. After the death of the Arian bishop of Milan, a violent conflict broke out in the city over whether the next bishop would be a Catholic or an Arian. Ambrose intervened to restore peace and was so admired by all that both sides accepted him as a candidate for bishop, althoug he was not even baptized at the time. He was baptized and consecrated a bishop within a week. He immediately gave his wealth to the poor and devoted himself to the study of scripture and the Greek fathers of the church. As a bishop, he was famous for his preaching, which was partly responsible for the conversion of the great theologian Augustine of Hippo, whom Ambrose baptized at Easter in 387.
Ambrose’s career was heavily involved with politics. He was continually defending the position of the Catholic Church against the power of the various Roman emperors during his episcopate: Gratian, Maximus, Justina (pro-Arian mother of Valentinian II), and Theodosius I. He was able to maintain the independence of the church against the civil power in his conflicts with paganism and Arianism. Regarding the former, Ambrose battled with Symmachus, magistrate of Rome, over the Altar of Victory in the Senate: The emperor Gratian had removed the altar in 382, and after Gratian’s death Symmachus petitioned Valentinian II for its restoration. Under Ambrose’s influence, the request was denied. Arianism received a blow when Ambrose refused to surrender a church for the use of the Arians. His decision was taken as sanctioned by heaven when—in the midst of the controversy—the bodies of the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius were discovered in the church.
Ambrose further strengthened the church’s authority before the state in two incidents in which he took a firm stand against the emperor Theodosius I.
One incident involved the rebuilding of the synagogue at Callinicum in 388; the other had to do with the emperor’s rash order that resulted in the massacre of thousands of innocent people at Thessalonica in the summer of 390. Ambrose refused to allow Theodosius to receive the sacraments until he had performed public penance for this atrocity. The reconciliation took place at Christmas 390. One reason for Ambrose’s influence over Theodosius was that, unlike most Christian emperors who delayed their reception into the church until their deathbed, he had been baptized and so fell under the authority of the church in his private life. Ambrose’s knowledge of Greek enabled him to introduce much Eastern theology into the West. His works include hymns, letters, sermons, treatises on the
moral life, and commentaries on scripture and on the sacraments. He was also a strong supporter of the monastic life in northern Italy.See also Christianity, early; Greek Church; Latin Church; Monasticism.
Under a regime where dissidents and intellectuals often disappeared or were murdered, Shirin Ebadi, Iran’s first woman judge, showed enormous courage in spite of death threats, harassment, and imprisonment.In 1948, things were a lot different in Iran than they are now. If she had the brains anddetermination, a girl like Shirin Ebadi, born to an educated, well-to-do family, could lookforward to going to university and having a good career. Shirin had plenty of both, andshe grew up to be a lawyer and a judge, the first woman in Iran to ever preside over alegislative court.But in 1979, there was a revolution in Iran and very conservative religious leaders tookpower.
Things were about to get very bad for women, girls, and anyone who spoke upagainst the government. The new leaders declared that women should not be judges anddemoted Shirin Ebadi to a secretarial position. She tried fighting the ruling, buteventually just resigned.It took years of more fighting before the government would recognize her law degree andlet her practice as a lawyer. By that time, Ebadi was angry - she was angry over the wayshe had been dealt with, and the way that all women and children were being treated inIran.Despite the dangers of opposing the government (people who protested were oftenarrested or simply disappeared), Ebadi set out to fight for justice and equality.
She wrotebooks and articles, fought to change the legal status of women and children, took on cases involving dissidents who were in trouble with the government, and helped get amore liberal president elected in Iran.But women and children were still second-class citizens, and anyone who spoke outagainst the government could still find themselves in deep trouble. In 2000, there was aseries of murders of intellectuals in Iran; Ebadi and others suspected the killers weregovernment thugs.
They were right, but it took a long, hard struggle to prove their case,and Ebadi wound up in jail for daring to ask questions.The more that Shirin Ebadi stood up for her beliefs, the more death threats andharassment she suffered. Finally, she was forced to flee Iran and now lives in exile inCanada. However, she has not stopped speaking out and campaigning for reforms in Iranand other countries where children and women are not treated as equals to men.Her courageous fight for justice has won her admirers and enemies around the world, aswell as the Nobel Prize for Peace.
Mesopotamia’s first-known empire, founded at the city of Akkad, prospered from the end of the 24th century b.c.e. to the beginning of the 22nd century b.c.e. Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 b.c.e.) established his empire at Akkad; its exact location is unknown but perhaps near modern Baghdad. His standing army allowed him to campaign from eastern Turkey to western Iran. Although it is still unclear how far he maintained permanent control, it probably ranged from northern Syria to western Iran.
His two sons succeeded him, Rimush (2278–70 b.c.e.) and Manishtushu (2269–55 b.c.e.), who had military success of their own by suppressing rebellions
and campaigning from northern Syria to western Iran.
Yet it was Manishtushu’s son Naram-Sin (2254–18 b.c.e.) who took the empire to its pinnacle. He established and maintained control from eastern Turkey to western Iran. In contrast to his grandfather who was deified after his death, Naram-Sin claimed divinity
while he was still alive.The rule of Naram-Sin’s son Shar-kali-sharri (2217–2193 b.c.e.) was mostly prosperous, but by the end of his reign the Akkadian Empire controlled only
a small state in northern Babylonia. Upon Shar-kalisharri’s death anarchy ensued until order was restored by Dudu (2189–2169 b.c.e.) and Shu-Durul (2168– 2154 b.c.e.), but these were more rulers of a city-state than kings of a vast empire. The demise of the Akkadian Empire can be explained by internal revolts from local governors as well as external attacks from groups such as the Gutians, Elamites, Lullubi, Hurrians, and
Amorites.
The Akkadian Empire set the standard toward which Mesopotamian kings throughout the next two millennia strove. Because of this, much literature appeared concerning the Akkadian kings, especially Sargon and Naram-Sin. In the Sargon Legend, which draws upon his illegitimate birth, Sargon is placed in a reed basket in the Euphrates before he is drawn out by a man named Aqqi and raised as a gardener. From this humble beginning Sargon establishes himself as the king of the first Mesopotamian empire.
The King of Battle is another tale of how Sargon traveled to Purushkhanda in central Turkey in order to save the merchants there from oppression. After defeating the king of the city, Nur-Daggal, the local ruler is allowed to continue to govern as long as he
acknowledges Sargon as king. Naram-Sin, however, is often portrayed as incompetent and disrespectful of the gods. In The Curse of Akkad, Naram-Sin becomes frustrated because the gods will not allow him to rebuild a temple to the god Enlil, so he destroys
it instead. Enlil then sends the Gutians to destroy the Akkadian Empire. As we know, however, the Akkadian Empire continued to have 25 prosperous years under Shar-kali-sharri after the death of Naram-Sin, and the Gutians were not the only reason for the downfall of the Akkadian Empire. In fact, there is no evidence for the Gutians
causing problems for the Akkadians until late in the reign of Shar-kali-sharri. Although this story had an important didactic purpose, it shows that caution must
be used in reconstructing the history of the Akkadian Empire from myths and legends.
In the Cuthean Legend, Naram-Sin goes out to fight a group that has invaded the Akkadian Empire.
Naram-Sin seeks an oracle about the outcome of the battle, but since it is negative, he ignores it and mocks the whole process of divination. As in The Curse of Akkad, Naram-Sin’s disrespect of the gods gets him in trouble as he is defeated three times by the invaders. He finally seeks another oracle and receives a positive
answer. Naram-Sin has learned his lesson: “Without divination, I will not execute punishment.” Despite these tales, there are others that paint Naram-Sin in a more positive light as an effective king with superior military capabilities. Along with a centralized government comes standardization. This included the gradual replacement of
Sumerian, a non-Semitic language, with Akkadian, an East Semitic language, in administrative documents. Dating by year names, that is naming each year after a particular event such as “the year Sargon destroyed Mari,” became the system used in Babylonia until 1500 b.c.e. when it was replaced with dating by regnal years. There was also a standardized system of weights and measures. Taxes were collected from all
regions of the empire in order to pay for this centralized administration.
The Akkadian ruler appointed governors in the territories the empire controlled, but many times the local ruler was just reaffirmed in his capacity. The governor would have to pledge allegiance to the Akkadian emperor and pay tribute, but at times, when the empire
was weak, the local rulers could revolt and assert their own sovereignty. This meant that the Akkadian rulers were constantly putting down rebellions. But perhaps the most
important precedent started by the Akkadian Empire was the installation of Sargon’s daughter Enheduanna as the high priestess of the moon god Nanna at Ur. She
composed two hymns dedicated to the goddess Inanna, making her the oldest known author in Mesopotamia. This provided much needed legitimacy for the kingdom
in southern Babylonia and continued to be practiced by Mesopotamian kings until the sixth century b.c.e.
Shania Twain’s long, slow road to fame included poverty, many disappointments, and a terrible tragedy. But when she finally succeeded, she set records that would be the envy of any singer. Life was tough for little Eileen Edwards (Shania Twain’s original name) and her familyin the northern Ontario town of Timmins. Her mother and stepfather did not work muchand the family often went hungry.
Her mother once drove the children more than 400miles to get help from a food bank in Toronto.Eileen grew up working hard - hunting, chopping wood, and helping her stepfather planttrees. But she had a special way of earning some extra money: Eileen could really sing.When she was as young as eight years old, she would go into town late at night and singfor coins people would throw for her. She began to write her own songs and dream ofbecoming a rock star.Eileen performed in bands as a teenager, touring all over Ontario and developing hertalent.
Times were still tough; sometimes she could only pay for singing lessons bycleaning her vocal coach’s house.The young singer was hit by one disappointment after another. Twice she went to theU.S. to try out for record companies, but came home empty-handed. Little jobs singingon other people’s albums never led to a big break. But Eileen kept on trying, again andagain.Then, Eileen’s parents were killed in a car accident. There was no one to take care of her
half-brothers and half-sister.
So Eileen moved back in with them, and supported herfamily by singing at a local resort.She was dirt poor once more, but still would not give up her dreams. When her halfsiblings were grown, Eileen tried yet again. She sent her best songs and music samples tomore record companies.Finally, her years of persistence paid off and she was asked to make her first album.Eileen created a new stage name for herself: using an Ojibwa word for “on my way”’ andher stepfather’s last name, she renamed herself Shania Twain.Shania Twain went on to make the best-selling album ever by a female singer and thetop-selling album in country music history. The singer who kept on trying has now soldsixty-five million albums around the world.
Honey is pretty cool, and it can clearly be used in a number of different ways
as well as it being known to have a variety of health-related properties
attached to it.
That being said, there is one type of honey in the world that is
completely different from what you would ever expect to find.
The honey in question is created by the Himalayan honey-bee, which just so
happens to be the biggest honey-bee in the world. However, that is not the
reason as to why their honey is seen as being different from anything else.
Instead, it is because their honey contains hallucinogenic properties which
makes it pretty valuable to tribes that live in and around the area. Men from
the tribes will spend the entire day trying to collect this honey just because of
what it does to their mind. It is also regarded as being a useful tool for
religious and ritualistic purposes.
Of course, it would also be useful if you just wanted to have a mind-blowing
experience. Who would have ever thought that it would be possible to do this
via eating honey?