Performers at the 26th Human Tower Competition in Tarragona, Spain

© Xinhua/Pau Barrena/Getty Image

A human tower in Tarragona. Room at the top?

The Murray River isn’t just an Australian icon, it’s also the third most navigable river in the world, placed right behind the Nile and the Amazon. So much so, in fact, that it’s able to host the Massive Murray Paddle- an annual five-day paddling race that is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary. It’s also a great location to get a glimpse of the Milky Way. Interestingly, the origin of this natural wonder varies from culture to culture. While we’ve given the galaxy its milky moniker due to its similar appearance from earth, in Armenia, there’s a little more backstory. There, it is called goghi chanaparh, which can be translated to “Straw Thief's Way,” derived from a tale about the god Vahagn, who transported cartloads of stolen straw across the heavens. The straw he dropped along the way is said to have crafted what you can see in the sky today.