digital images

In the hope of combating anorexia, 50 members of the French Assembly have proposed a bill that would require magazines to label any portraits that have been digitally altered. They claim that slimmed-down pics of celebs lead to anorexia in young women looking to attain unrealistic body sizes.

Another image from the day-one slide show I couldn't let get buried: James Nick Sears and his dad's amazing "persistence of vision" project, called the ORB. The ORB is hundreds of computer-controlled LEDs soldered into a ring that spins at an impressive 1,600 rpm. A computer synchronizes the LEDs to project animated digital images in full 3-D. —John Mahoney

Lance Corporal Ted "JOEY" Boudreaux Jr. was bored. It was the summer of 2003 in Iraq, the pause between the heavy lifting of the U.S. invasion and the turmoil of the insurgency, and you can joyride around the desert in a dusty Humvee only so often. Loitering at the back gate of his base, mingling with locals, Boudreaux says he scribbled "Welcome Marines" on a piece of cardboard and gave it to some kids, who then posed with him, smiling, for a snapshot. He e-mailed the picture to his mom, a cousin and a few friends, and he didn´t think about it again. Boredom moved on.