The globe’s biggest Carnival bash opened Friday, when Rio de Janeiro’s mayor handed the key to the city to rotund King Momo, the mythical jester figure who reigns over Carnival.

About 850,000 tourists are expected in Rio during the raucous, five-day free-for-all. Millions of people across the country will take to the streets and sambadromes to dance and party, effectively putting Brazil on a week-long hiatus.

A dancer from the Mocidade samba school performs at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press)

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The history of Lucerne’s carnival can be traced back over more than 600 years and is best known for its individually hand-crafted masks and costumes paraded in the town’s streets and squares by thousands of revellers during the three-day carnival festival.

People in costume pose for photographers at the start of the Luzern-Carnival in Lucerne in the early morning hours Feb. 16. (Michael Buholzer / Reuters)

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Maha Shivaratri, a holy Hindu festival, will be celebrated on Feb. 20 and be marked across the world. The festival is meant to honour Lord Shiva, a Hindu God and one of the Trinity of the Creator, the Destroyer and the Preserver, who rule Hindu mythology. Shivaratri falls on a moonless February night, when Hindus offer special prayer to the Lord of Destruction. As the legend goes, Shivaratri is the night Lord Shiva is said to have performed the dance of primal creation, preservation and destruction.

Another popular legend is that Lord Shiva turned himself in the form of a Linga for the first time. Since then, devotees celebrate it as the grand night of Shiva.

During this festival, devotees observe day and night fasts, chant mantras and worship Lord Shiva to appease him. Some devotees smear their bodies in ashes and pray to their lord.

A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, applies paint on his forehead at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

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For over 40 years, the Robert L. Adams Funeral Home has provided grief-stricken families in Compton, Los Angeles, with a rare convenience that does not usually accompany death: the drive-through. The Robert L. Adams parlor is thought to be the only drive-through funeral home in southern California and mourners never have to stop to express their sorrow.

Since 1974, the mortuary has offered a simple alternative to traditional funerals. According to office manager Denise Knowles-Bragg, the parlor is convenient for older people who find it hard to walk, for those who want to make a quick stop during the lunch hour, and for the families of well-known deceased people who expect many visitors.

The glass in the drive-through home is bulletproof and MSNBC speculates the drive-through’s success may stem from the 1980s when the Compton area of Los Angeles was filled with gang violence. Gang members were hesitant to have traditional funerals and graveside services due to the cemetary shootouts that would occassionally follow a gang member’s death. The LA Times speculates the bulletproof glass made the Robert L. Adams Funeral Home a popular place for gang funerals. Photos: REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson. NSFW.

The funeral parlor has been in business since 1974, and is thought to be the only drive-through funeral home in southern California, according to office manager Denise Knowles-Bragg. Knowles-Bragg said the parlor offers a convenient alternative to older people who find it hard to walk, those who want to make a quick stop during the lunch hour, and the families of well-known deceased people who expect many visitors.

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Singer Whitney Houston, who died on February 11, 2012, is shown on a video screen in a 1994 Grammy performance during the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 12, 2012. (Reuters)

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A diver dressed to look like Poseidon (L), kisses another dressed as the mermaid Marina, during a Valentine’s day event inside an aquarium at the ocean park in Manila February 11, 2012. (Reuters)

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Annually,Hungary recycles about $1 billion worth of old forints (currency of Hungary), and converts the worn out currency into bricks. After which, the bricks are distributed to different charitable organizations . The bricks are used as a heating fuel. This unique government program covers up to a third of the expenses in heating. (REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh)

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Celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar year, the stunning Lantern Festival lit up skies from China to Singapore on Feb. 6, concluding the festivities of the Chinese New Year. According to Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a New Year when there is a full moon in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate.

In 2012, lanterns with themes for the Year of the Dragon wound through cities from Taipei to Shanghai.

People walk under red lanterns on display during Lantern Festival celebrations in Taipei February 5, 2012. The Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao Jie is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar year in the Chinese calendar. The Lantern Festival is also known as the Little New Year since it marks the end of the series of celebrations starting from the Chinese New Year. (REUTERS / Pichi Chuang)

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Groundhog Phil saw his shadow on Thursday morning, in front of thousands of eagerly waiting people, which predicted 6 more weeks of winter. Every year, on February 2, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler’s Knob, to predict the weather for the rest of the season. Punxsutawney Phil is making predictions for the last 125 years and this year, it is his 126th prediction.

At 7:25 am, around 18,000 people gathered in front of Phil’s burrow to witness the prediction of groundhog Phil at Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to legend, changes in seasonal weather can be predicted by Phil’s sighting of his shadow. If he sees the shadow, there would be six more weeks of winter and if he is not seeing it, there would be an early spring.

The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers. Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s and its first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob was made on February 2, 1887, claims a website dedicated to Punxsutawney Phil, groundhog.org.

However, the groundhog predicted an early spring for Canadians ;)

Groundhog handler Ron Ploucha holds famed weather prognosticating groundhog Punxsutawney Phil after he made his annual weather prediction on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on the 126th Groundhog Day, February 2, 2012. Phil saw his shadow, signaling six more weeks of winter. (Reuters)

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As the name implies, the “Tough Guy” challenge is not for the faint of heart. The 2012 event saw nearly 6,000 ice-cool competitors from around the world flock to the British Midlands in hopes of winning the coveted title.

The competitors, both men and women, ploughed through an eight-mile assault course in Perton, near Telford, Shropshire, that was made up of “25 obscurantismalistic obstackels (sic).” With guts of steel, the gluttons for punishment waded through muddy, sub-zero swamps and crawled through electrified tunnels – all while marshals dressed as commandos fired blank artillery shells and threw thunder flashes and smoke bombs over their heads.

Sunday’s race – the 25th in the event’s history – attracted runners from over 20 nations. Each was required to sign a “death warrant,” clearing the organizers of any legal responsibilities in the event of injury or death.

German junior doctor Knut Hoehler, 26, braved muck and mayhem (and a bloody head injury) to come first, in a time of one hour 11 minutes and 57 seconds.

Competitors cross obstacles at the annual Tough Guy event in Perton, England. Tough Guy claims to be the world’s most demanding one-day survival ordeal. (Jon Super/Associated Press)

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