No Halloween celebration would be complete without a peek at pumpkin carver extraordinaire Ray Villafane's incredible masterpieces. As has been the case for the past three years, the artist and his team of equally talented carvers, spent the weekend of October 18th and 19th at the New York Botanical Garden, transforming some of the world's largest pumpkins into scary zombies....

Though there are numerous Halloween dog parades across the country, very few are as famous as the one held at New York City's Tompkins Square Park. Now in its 24th year, the annual pageant that doubles up as a fundraiser is one of the most competitive dog events in the world, with owners going through incredible efforts and expense to don their best friends in the most unique Halloween costumes....

With Halloween rapidly approaching, reports of paranormal sightings will start to escalate as people get into the spirit of the spooky holiday. While most are obvious hoaxes, there are a few reported by people who genuinely believe they have encountered a ghost or spirit. It is these perceptions that professional skeptic Benjamin Radford spends his time investigating and resolving, with logical explanations - so far, he has not failed!...

In September 2013, the government of Spain increased taxes on cultural events from 8% to 21%, making the cost of live theater performances prohibitive for most people. Within four months, venues reported a 30% decline in audience. While most theater owners sat around fuming at the officials, Barcelona-based Teatreneu, decided to tackle the challenge with an innovative approach to attract audience....

On September 23rd, 2014, Dutch airline KLM released a YouTube video that made everyone who saw it, wish they could travel on the airline, and forget a possession or two. That's because the short clip depicted a cute beagle aptly named "Sherlock" as the newest and most efficient member of the airline's lost and found service....

While most of us are just resigned to the fact that potato chip bags contain more air than snack, some South Korean college students decided it was time to show manufacturers that consumers were well aware of the fact, and were not too thrilled about it....

Most people don't manage to visit 19 countries in twenty-four years, leave aside 24 hours! But three young Norwegian men have proven that where there is a will, there is a way especially, when the motivation is to shatter a Guinness World Record....

It's October, which means that millions of Americans will head to the closest pumpkin patch to select a gourd that they will then attempt to carve into a scary monster. While some artistic ones will succeed, most will end up with a cheerful jack o'-lantern. That is probably why a Southern California farmer came up with the brilliant idea of growing pumpkins that naturally resemble Frankenstein....

They may not be able to leap to great heights or perform summersaults like their human counterparts, but the Murata cheerleading robots that made their debut in Japan on Thursday, September 25th, were pretty impressive with the synchronized routine they showcased, while perched over wobbly balls....

Thanks to services like iTunes, Spotify and Pandora, most people have given up the quest of discovering new music and instead chosen to depend on ready-made playlists or recommendations made by others. Now thanks to the "Listening Tree", music lovers can re-discover the pleasure of unearthing their own musical gems....

First there were the "piano stairs" that encouraged people to exercise, then came the "bottle bank" that transformed an ordinary recycling bin into a gaming arcade and now a dancing "red man" that made waiting at a pedestrian crossing, fun!...

This is a big year for Kitty White or as she is popularly known, Hello Kitty. That's because on November 1st, 2014, the perpetual 3rd grader will celebrate her 40th birthday! And while she is not shy about revealing her age, Ms. White sure has been keeping a big secret from the world - she is NOT a cat!...

On Sunday, August 31st, 352 kitesurfers made their way to the pristine beaches of Tarifa, a small town on the south coast of Spain, to attempt a new Guinness World record for the largest en masse kitesurf, over one nautical mile....

One of the biggest knocks against candy is that it causes cavities. Now some genius scientists from Berlin-based biotechnology firm, OrganoBalance, may have figured out a way to manufacture the sweet treats in a way that eliminates that risk almost entirely. Sounds too good to be true? Read on . . ....

On Wednesday, August 27th, over 20,000 revelers literally painted the tiny town of Bunol red, by pelting each other with thousands of pounds of tomatoes. This was of course no ordinary food fight, but the world's largest one that is staged annually on the last Wednesday of August - Welcome to Spain's messy La Tomatina festival!...

On Saturday, August 23rd, over 300 people lined up outside Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C., to participate in the first birthday celebration of one of its cutest and most precious residents - America's favorite giant panda cub, Bao Bao....

On Sunday, August 24th, comic book lovers across the world watched with abated breath to what avid collectors would pay for a rare Superman comic book. Though bids above the initial asking price of $1 million USD had been coming in gradually since the pristine copy was placed on auction site eBay on July 14th, things really started to heat up during the final minutes when the price jumped from $2.5 to $2.6 and then $2.7 million, before shooting up to $3,207,752. Just when everyone thought it was over, an unknown buyer sneaked in the winning bid - a mind-boggling $3,207,852!...

Although most hitchhikers are people in need of genuine assistance, passersby tend to ignore them because they are wary of giving rides to strangers. But what would they do if they came across a hitchhiking robot? Would humans be caring enough to take it to its desired destination or would they vandalize and toss the helpless machine by the wayside?...

Let's be honest, historical statues can get a little boring. After all, how many times can one admire the intricate carving or read the plaque etched below? It is therefore no wonder that most people just whiz past them, as they go about their daily lives. But what if they had a story to tell? Would passersby spend two minutes of their precious time to listen?...

Trampoline parks are sprouting up all across the world. However, they all pale in comparison to Bounce Below - the world's biggest underground trampoline park that opened in the historic slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales, on July 3rd. Nestled in a massive cavern that is located inside a 100ft deep and 60ft wide former slate mine, it provides visitors with a bouncing experience like none other....

While in most places a candidate has to be at least old enough to vote before he/she can stand for office, such is not the case in the tiny town of that lies 150 miles from the city of Minnesota. In this unincorporated community that boasts a population of 28 and calls itself 'The Restaurant Capital of the World', everyone, regardless of gender, qualification, residency or age, can vie to become the honorary mayor. This means that even a toddler can be elected!...

While illusions that trick the eyes are pretty common, ones that fool human ears are relatively rare. That is the reason this experiment conjured up by the scientists at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute for their new exhibit 'Your Brain', is so intriguing....

On June 9th, even the most rushed traveler at Hong Kong's International airport paused to admire the mesmerizing sight of 1,600 pandas, each the size of a human baby, some sitting, others standing - all eager to be whisked away to the city's numerous landmarks. As you may have already guessed, they were not live animals but replicas made from recycled materials by French sculptor, Paulo Grangeon....

The fact that New Caledonian crows are smart is no secret. After all these birds that are endemic to the remote South Pacific Island of New Caledonia have been lauded for years, for their sophisticated tool use that not only rivals most birds, but also some of the most intelligent primates. But now it seems that they even possess psychic powers - For how else can you explain their accurate prediction of the semifinal results of the 2014 FIFA World Cup?...