A Norwegian pro-whaling group released a study concluding that farming livestock is worse for the environment than hunting giant whales. The groups argument is that the process of tracking and harpooning the mammals requires less fuel than farming livestock—the boats burn less fuel, and release less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

It was like falling in love," says Norwegian artist Vebjorn Sand. "I just couldn't get it out of my mind." Six years ago, while visiting an exhibit of the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Sand became captivated by a model of a bridge that, in 1502, da Vinci had proposed building for Sultan Bajazet II, ruler of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan wished to span the Golden Horn, an inlet between the Turkish cities of Pera and Constantinople (known today as Istanbul). At that time, it would have been one of the world's largest bridges.