The Cardrona Bra Fence, New Zealand

PD Photo: The Cardrona Bra Fence, a controversial tourist attraction in Central Otago, New Zealand, photo taken on 24 March, 2006 by Adam Buczynski

The Cardrona Bra Fence was a controversial tourist attraction in Central Otago, New Zealand, where passers-by started to hang bras on a rural fence. The Bra Fence had its origin on a day between Christmas and New Year 1999, when four women's bras were found hanging to the wire fence. As news spread, more bras began to appear, but the bras were removed anonymously. This attracted more people, and by October 2000, the number of bras was about 200, and in early 2006, the number of bras attached to the fence was about 800. As the fence rested on a public road reserve, the local Council determined the bra fence was a traffic hazard and an eyesore and ordered the bras on the fence to be removed. It seems that the Bra Fence is a piece of history now, but there are thousands of photos of the Bra Fence on the worldwide web for posterity.

Indian Peafowl, a white mutation Peacock

PD Photo: Indian Peafowl (Peacock), white mutation, photographed at Jardin des Plantes, Paris.

The photo shows a white mutant Indian Peafowl (Peacock) maintained by inbreeding in many parks worldwide such as this one at the Jardin des Plantes, the main botanical garden in France.

The Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a large brightly coloured pheasant native to South Asia, but introduced in many other parts of the world. The commonly used name for the bird is peacock for the male and peahen for the female bird. The Latin genus name Pavo and the Anglo-Saxon Pawe, from which the word Peacock is derived, are echoic in their origin and based on the usual call of the bird. The earliest usage of the word in written English is from around 1300 and the spelling variants include pecok, pokok, pokokke, poocok, pekok, pecokk, peacocke, peocock, pyckock, poucock, pocok, etc. The Greek word for Peacock was taos and was related to the Persian ‘tavus’, as in Takht-i-Tâvus for the famous Peacock Throne. The Hebrew words tuk/ tukkiyim have been derived from the Tamil word tokei but sometimes traced to the Egyptian word tekh.

Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)

PD Photo: Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), photographed on August 30, 2007 by Dick Mudde in Diergaarde Blijdorp (Stichting Koninklijke Rotterdamse Diergaarde, Foundation Royal Zoo of Rotterdam, one of the oldest zoos in the Netherlands).

The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), a subspecies of tigers found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, have unique genetic markers, which isolate Sumatran tigers from all other mainland subspecies of tigers. The Sumatran tiger is only found naturally in Sumatra, a large island in western Indonesia. The smallest of all surviving tiger subspecies, the male Sumatran Tiger has average 204 cm (6 feet 8 inches) length and weigh about 136 kg (300 lb) and tigresses of this subspecies average 198 cm (6 feet 6 inches) in length weighing about 91 kg (200 lb). They have webbing between their toes that help Sumatran tigers swim very fast.

DIGNITY & RESPECT, U.S. Army training guide on homosexual conduct

PD Image: DIGNITY & RESPECT (2001), a U.S. Army training guide on the homosexual conduct policy

The guide titled “DIGNITY & RESPECT” was issued in 2001 to deal with homosexual conduct, evidence gathering, credible witnesses, admission of guilt, harassment and additional army resources. Source: Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Dept. of the Army. Libraries that have a copy in their holdings: Pritzger Military Library and Michigan State University, online copy of the entire guide available at www.ep.tc/problems/38/cvr.html

PD Image: A page from the U.S. Army training guide on the homosexual conduct policy dealing with the definition of homosexuality.

The U.S. Army (Army Regulation 600-20, Army Command Policy, Chapter 4-19) defines homosexual conduct as an act or a statement that demonstrates a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts, the solicitation of another to engage in homosexual act or acts, or a homosexual marriage or attempted marriage.

Licensing: As an original work of the U.S. federal government, these images are in the public domain.

Francesco Albani: Hermaphroditus and Salmacis, Louvre Museum

PD Image: Hermaphroditus and Salmacis, oil on copper glued to a wood panel painting by Francesco Albani (1591-1666), dimensions 14 cm x 31 cm (5.51 in x 12.20 in), current location at Department of Paintings, Denon, 1st floor, Room 12, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France (Accession number: INV 19) - Provenance: by André Le Nôtre (1613-1700), ceded to Louis XIV of France (1638-1715) by André Le Nôtre, and in 1793 ownership transferred to Muséum Central des Arts (now Musée du Louvre), Paris.

Discus fish of the genus Symphysodon

PD Photo: Blue Discus fish (Symphysodon aequifasciata)

PD Photo: Discus fish, variuos, in the home aquarium

PD Photo: Red Turquoise Discus Fish

PD Photo: Discuss Fish, Symphysodon hybrid from Beijing, China

Discuss fish, a native of the Amazon River

PD Photo: Blue discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus) with color variation

Discus fish (Symphysodon genus) are a genus of three species of cichlid freshwater fishes native to the Amazon River basin. They are popular as aquarium fish and in aquaculture. Discus fish belong to the genus Symphysodon, which includes three species: the Common Discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus), the Heckel Discus (Symphysodon discus) and Symphysodon tarzoo.

Like cichlids, all Symphysodon species have a laterally compressed body shape, and rounded shape from which their name discus is derived. The sides of the fish are patterned in shades of green, red, brown, and blue.

Tribute in Light, 2004 memorial of Sep 11 attacks on WTC Twin Towers

PD Photo: The two beams of light represent the former Twin Towers of the World Trade Center during the 2004 memorial of the September 11, 2001 attacks, photo by Derek Jensen taken on September 11, 2004.

The Tribute in Light, an art installation of 88 searchlights placed next to the site of the World Trade Center to create two vertical columns of light in remembrance of the September 11 attacks, initially ran as a temporary installation from March 11 to April 14, 2002. It was re-launched in 2003 to mark the second anniversary of the attack, and as of 2010, it has been repeated every year on September 11. On December 17, 2009, it was confirmed that the tribute would continue through to the tenth anniversary of the attacks in 2011. More info can be had at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribute_in_Light.