The reason for the strange contortions in the trunks of these "drunken" pine trees in Russia is still a mystery.

It's good luck to be mocked by this monkey.

The world's first and only three-segment bascule bridge folds up into the shape of a capital "N" to let boat traffic through.

Six beautiful wooden giants are hidden around Copenhagen.

The final resting place for the remains of 143 Habsburg royalty.

The crypt of the imposing Stephensdom holds royal intestines and thousands of skeletons.

This astonishingly geometric cave has inspired everyone from Jules Verne to Pink Floyd.

This ruined fortress was the stronghold for a persecuted medieval leader and his infamous Assassins.

Ancient structures used to make and preserve ice in the deserts of Persia.

The sacred shrine of the Yazidis.

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.

A 2,000-year-old computer demonstrates remarkable engineering and astronomical precision.

A real-life replica of a home from Hayao Miyazaki's beloved movie "My Neighbor Totoro."

An Aztec snake god has taken the material form of an apartment complex.

A neo-Gothic temple in central Mexico featuring a labyrinthine network of crypts.

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

Twelve natural mummies are displayed in the crypt of this former monastery school.

An opal mining town in the middle of Australia where people live, worship, and shop underground.

An ancient instrument used to measure the waters of the Nile so Egyptian farmers would know whether to expect famine or flood.

This ancient structure is widely thought to be the oldest intact pyramid in the world.

Ancient Egyptian relief, claimed to depict an electrical light.

One of its engravings is believed to be among the first representations of medical and surgical instruments.

The little bear in the "funny kind of hat" has made his way from London back to Peru.

This scalding hot river was thought to be a myth until one geoscientist made it his quest to study the mystical waters.