www.jobollen.be

A plasma globe is a novelty item that consists of a glass orb filled with a mixture of various gases. A smaller orb in its center serves as an electrode and plasma filaments extend from the inner electrode to the outer glass shell, giving the appearance of multiple constant beams of colored light.

Film credit: Geni
Archive – More featured pictures...

Las Meninas ("The Maids of Honour") is a 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, showing a large room in the Royal Palace of Madrid, and presents several figures, most identifiable from the Spanish court. Some look out of the canvas towards the viewer, while others interact among themselves. The young Infanta Margarita is surrounded by her entourage of maids of honour, chaperone, bodyguard, two dwarfs and a dog. Just behind them, Velázquez portrays himself working at a large canvas. Las Meninas has long been recognised as one of the most important paintings in Western art history and has been one of the most widely analysed works in Western painting.

Archive – More featured pictures...

William Wallace Denslow's illustration of the poem "The Queen of Hearts" from a 1901 issue of Mother Goose. The poem was originally published in 1782 as part of a set of four playing card based poems, but proved to be far more popular than the others. By 1785 it had been set to music, and it forms the basis of the plot of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Chapter XI: "Who Stole the Tarts?" Although it was originally published in a magazine for adults, it is now best known as a nursery rhyme.

Restoration: Lise Broer
Archive – More featured pictures...

The Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang, female shown here) is a common red-breasted Australasian robin. It is endemic to Australia, where it is found near the coast from southern Queensland to central South Australia, Tasmania and south west Western Australia. It is stocky passerine bird with a large head. It ranges in size from 12–13.5 cm (4.7–5.3 in) in length and weighs between 12–14 g (0.4–0.5 oz).

Photo credit: Fir0002
Archive – More featured pictures...

Gypsum, a common mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, in its crystallised selenite form. In addition to selenite, it may also occur in a silky, fibrous form called "satin spar", and a very fine-grained white variety is called alabaster. In arid areas, it can also occur in a flower-like form called desert rose. In the form of selenite, gypsum forms some of the largest crystals found in nature, up to 11 m (36 ft) long.

Photo credit: Noodle snacks
Archive – More featured pictures...

Thomas Edison (1847–1931) was an American inventor, scientist and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" (now Edison, New Jersey) by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large teamwork to the process of invention, and therefore is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory. Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Photo: Bachrach Studios; Restoration: Michel Vuijlsteke
Archive – More featured pictures...

Kishū Kumano iwatake tori by Hiroshige II, a Japanese woodblock print in the ukiyo-e style, depicting the harvesting of iwatake mushrooms (Umbilicaria esculenta) near Kumano in the Kishū Domain. Actually a lichen that grows on rocks, iwatake (literally, "rock mushroom") are used in East Asia as both a food source and medicine.

Restoration: Adam Cuerden
Archive – More featured pictures...

The inchman (Myrmecia forficata) is a species of bulldog ant that is native to southeastern Australia and Tasmania, so named because of its size (growing up to nearly 1 in/25 mm in length). The inchman is a carnivore and a scavenger. They sting their victims with venom, which is among the most powerful in the insect world.

Photo credit: Noodle snacks
Archive – More featured pictures...

Morchella conica, a species of morel mushroom. Morels are known for their distinctive appearance, not unlike a honeycomb in that the upper portion is composed of a network of ridges with pits between them. The ascocarps are prized by gourmet cooks, particularly for French cuisine. However, morels have not yet been successfully farmed on a large scale, and the commercial morel industry is largely based on harvest of wild mushrooms.

Photo credit: Beentree
Archive – More featured pictures...

In gridiron football, the quarterback is the leader of the offensive team. At most levels, but especially at the college and professional level, the quarterback is one of the most visible and important roles on the team, being responsible both for calling plays and making decisions during the play. Shown here is Shea Smith of the Air Force Falcons during the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl.

Photo credit: Mike Kaplan, USAF
Archive – More featured pictures...

A 1920 autographed photo of American baseball player Babe Ruth (1895–1948), regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. The popularity of the game exploded in the 1920s, largely due to his hitting prowess, which led to escalating home run totals that not only excited fans, but helped baseball evolve from a low-scoring, speed-dominated game to a high-scoring power game. He began his Major League career in 1914 as a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. By the time he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he had become a full-time hitter. After Ruth's sale, the hugely successful Red Sox did not win another World Series title for 86 years, and the Yankees became one of the winningest franchises in North American professional sports.

Photo: Irwin, La Broad, & Pudlin; Restoration: Lise Broer
Archive – More featured pictures...

A ripe passionfruit and the cross-section of another. Passionfruits are the fruit of the passion flower vine species Passiflora edulis, which is native to Brazil and northeastern Argentina, but now is cultivated commercially in frost-free areas in many countries for its fruit. Passionfruit comes in two varieties: purple (seen here), which is usually smaller than a lemon, and yellow, which is about the size of a grapefruit.

Photo credit: Fir0002
Archive – More featured pictures...

A New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae), a honeyeater species native to southern Australia, sitting on a flowering stalk of Phormium tenax with its crown dusted by pollen. It was the first bird to be scientifically described in Australia. It is around 18 cm (7.1 in) long, is mainly black, with a white iris, white facial tufts and yellow margins on its wing and tail feathers.

Photo credit: Noodle snacks
Archive – More featured pictures...

The Ottoman camel corps at Beersheba before the First Suez Offensive of World War I. Although the main thrust of the offensive on February 3, 1915, was unsuccessful in capturing the Suez Canal, the Ottoman army achieved its objective because the British were forced to keep more troops in Egypt than they had expected.

Photo: American Colony; Restoration: Lise Broer
Archive – More featured pictures...

The promenade along the beach in Brighton, a seaside town in the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex on the south coast of Great Britain. It emerged as a health resort during the 18th century and became a destination for day-trippers after the arrival of the London and Brighton Railway in 1841.

Photo credit: David Iliff
Archive – More featured pictures...

A portrait of George Washington Carver, American scientist, botanist, educator and inventor, from 1942. Much of Carver's fame is based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes. In addition to his work on agricultural extension education for purposes of advocacy of sustainable agriculture and appreciation of plants and nature, Carver's important accomplishments also included improvement of racial relations, mentoring children, poetry, painting, and religion. One of his most important roles was in undermining, through the fame of his achievements and many talents, the widespread stereotype of the time that the black race was intellectually inferior to the white race.

Photo: Arthur Rothstein; Restoration: Lise Broer
Archive – More featured pictures...

Lady Barron Falls is a cascading waterfall located within a few kilometres of Russell Falls in Mount Field National Park, the oldest national park in Tasmania (Australia), located 64 kilometres (40 mi) northwest of Hobart.

Photo credit: Noodle snacks
Archive – More featured pictures...

Bartholomeus van der Helst's 1648 painting depicting a company of schutterij celebrating the Peace of Münster, the treaty between the Dutch Republic and Spain signed earlier that year making the United Netherlands independent from the Holy Roman Empire. The Dutch Revolt had begun in 1566, and the Northern Netherlands became de facto independent over the years. By the end, France allied itself with the Dutch, taking much of the Southern Netherlands. On January 30, 1648, the fighting parties reached an agreement after seven years of negotiations, and the final treaty was signed on May 15.

Archive – More featured pictures...

The citrus swallowtail (Papilio demodocus) is a large swallowtail butterfly common to sub-Saharan Africa. It is considered a pest species, as the caterpillar feeds on citrus tree leaves. Adults, as seen here, have black and yellow markings with red and blue eyespots.

Photo credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Archive – More featured pictures...

One of the two earliest illustrations of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice, which was first published on January 28, 1813. This engraving comes from the first illustrated edition, published twenty years later, and depicts Elizabeth Bennet (the main protagonist, right) and her father, in fashions that were common in the 1830s, not the story's original time setting. The novel is told from Bennet's point of view and deals with issues of manners, upbringing, moral rightness, education and marriage in the aristocratic society of early 19th century England. The novel retains a fascination for modern readers, having sold some 20 million copies worldwide and continuing near the top of lists of 'most loved books'.

Engraver: Pickering & Greatbatch; Restoration: Adam Cuerden
Archive – More featured pictures...