Here’s this week of photos that prove we live in a mad world.
Models promote an internet company’s quick response codes at the 13th China Internet Conference in Beijing. Jason Lee/Reuters
A 41-year-old man going by the name of Chibatman rides his ‘Chibatpod’ on the road in Chiba, east of Tokyo. The man, who dresses up as the comic book superhero Batman, came up with his moniker after adding a prefix of the first three letters of the city name, of which he roams on his three-wheeled motorcycle. However, unlike the hero from the Batman series, he rides around in his machine, designed from inspiration of the ‘Batpod’ from the movies The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, delivering smiles instead of fighting crime. Yuya Shino/Reuters
A competitor jumps to run through plastic bottles during the Brutal Run extreme obstacle course race in Budapest. Laszlo Balogh/Reuters
Rubber ducks float in the Danube river in the centre of Budapest. Fifty-two thousand rubber ducks wearing sunglasses were dropped during the ‘The Great Rubber Ducky Race 2014’. Laszlo Balogh/Reuters
People navigate along the Lielupe river as they participate in the milk carton boat regatta in Jelgava. Thirty eight teams used about 40,000 empty milk tetra packs to build rafts as part of the XIV International festival of milk, bread and honey. Ints Kalnins/Reuters
Farmers and their children wearing traditional costumes drive their cows and goats during the annual Alpabzug near the eastern Swiss town of Gonten. The cows and goats graze during the summer months on mountain pastures near the Swiss town of Appenzell. Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters
Dou Ziwang, an employee of a chilli processing factory, proposes to his girlfriend as they stand on hearts made of 99,999 chillies, in Handan, Hebei province. Reuters
Artist Pete Fowler puts the finishing touches to his mural on a building in east London. Fowler who lives and works in London’s east end, was commissioned to paint the mural with the owners’ permission. Andrew Winning/Reuters
A woman selling toilet products poses for a photo at the Oriental Market in Managua, Nicaragua. Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters
A competitor runs through a foam tunnel during an extreme obstacle course race in Budapest. Laszlo Balogh/Reuters
A player from the Peninsula team (blue hat) fights for the ball with a player from the Mercedes-Benz Thailand during their 2014 King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament in Samut Prakan province, on the outskirts of Bangkok. A total of 16 international teams and 51 Thai elephants are participating in the tournament that runs from August 28-31. Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters
Zhang Guanhui, impersonating Michael Jackson, dances during his street performance in Beijing. Zhang, born in 1984, quit elementary school and has since held jobs as a factory worker, waiter, and security guard. After watching a Michael Jackson music video four years ago for the first time, Zhang says he became fascinated and now puts on shows on the street and small stages impersonating the King of Pop. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Participants dine al fresco at the 4th annual ‘Diner en Blanc’ in the Manhattan borough of New York. The annual dinner’s location is kept secret until just before the event. This year it was held in BatteryCityPark along the Hudson River. Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Xie Shuiping is punched by a man as part of a challenge in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. Xie, 48, has been challenging people to punch his belly for more than ten years. He has promised to give the challenger 1,000 yuan ($163) if they can make him fall or step back from being punched but only one person has managed to do so thus far, according to local media. Reuters
Students run along a track on the rooftop of a campus building, at a primary school in Tiantai county, Zhejiang province. The school built this 200-metre track on top of a four-storey building due to insufficient space of the campus. According to local media, this design project has been submitted to compete in the 14th International Architecture Exhibition which is ongoing in Venice, Italy. China Daily/Reuters
