Via Ferratas

A spectacular passage of the "via ferrata" Bocchette Centrali, on the Dolomiti del Brenta, Italy.

A via ferrata (Italian for "iron road", plural vie ferrate or in English via ferratas ) is a protected climbing route that is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. The use of these allows otherwise dangerous routes to be accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities. Walkers and climbers can follow via ferrata without needing to use their own ropes and belays, and without the risks associated with unprotected scrambling and climbing. Over 1000 via ferratas now exist. The majority are found in the Alps: Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Switzerland, others are found in a number of European countries, including United Kingdom, Slovenia, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Norway and a few places elsewhere: in the United States, Canada, Iran, Malaysia and Singapore. The origins of via ferrata date back to the nineteenth century, but via ferratas are strongly associated with the First World War, when several were built in the Dolomite mountain region of Italy to aid the movement of troops. However, many more have been developed in recent years, as their popularity has grown and the tourism benefits have become recognised.

Model in an Alexander McQueen chainmail-type bodysuit.

A model in a chainmail-type bodysuit poses on the catwalk during fashion designer Alexander McQueen's 'Black' Fashion Show at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, Thursday, June 3, 2004.

Emma Mills Nutt

Emma Mills Nutt became the world’s first female telephone operator in operator in history when she began working for the Edwin Holmes Telephone Dispatch Company in Boston, Mass. She was paid a salary of $10 a month for a 54 hour work week. The first operators for the company were teenage boys who did not work well with the customers. Emma reportedly could remember every number in the directory of New England Telephone Company. Within seven years, all telephone operators in Boston were women.

Mike Ross, Sculptor

Ross' best known work, "Big Rig Jig", consisted of two modified tanker trucks attached to each other vertically in an S shape, with a truss installed in the tanks that allowed people to climb inside. The piece was built at American Steel, an art fabrication shop in Oakland, California. It was commissioned by the Black Rock Arts Foundation for Burning Man in 2007, and was considered one of the highlights of the event. It toured to the Coachella Music Festival in 2008. Ross described the work as a commentary on America's unsustainable oil economy.

Monsieur & Madame Monet

window washers, 48th street, new york, 1958 • inge morath

A Crocodile Hatching.

A crocodile hatches during a crocodile hatching festival at Sriracha Tiger Zoo, 74 miles east of Bangkok, 2008. Photo by Sukree Sukplang.