She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence. But her beauty - and her vanity - led to her demise as the lead-based make-up she insisted on plastering on daily resulted first in the loss of her looks, then deadly blood poisoning. Now the grand 7ft mirror in which Maria Gunning, the former Countess of Coventry, admired her stunning reflection has been auctioned off for more than £300,000. Labelled the first victim of vanity, Maria died aged 27 in 1760 after her love of make-up resulted in her untimely death. The 253-year-old mirror sold well above its estimate even though her condition meant she the society hostess used it for a matter of just months. A glorious George II giltwood overmantel design, it was bought for her by her husband The Sixth Earl of Coventry in 1759, who is said to have been so frustrated by his wife's love of make up that he would chase her around the dinner table with a handkerchief, trying wipe it from her face.
Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .
WONDERS of the world have been transformed into their mini-versions in a seven-year round the world adventure .
A little clownfish opens its mouth to reveal a blood sucking intruder living on its tongue .
SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .
These are the men with one of the most unpleasant jobs in the world .
Destroyed buildings and overturned cars are seen after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, May 20, 2013 .
STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .
BURSTING colours of reds, pinks and purples give the illusion of a collection of stunning flowers .
Meet the human CCTV: a PCSO with a memory for faces so sharp he has apprehended more than 130 suspects in the last year alone with his eagle eyed talents .
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
NOT YOUR everyday selfie, this plucky diver poses with some of the scariest predators in the ocean .
A grand 56-bedroom hotel, once heaving with injured soldiers during the First World War, now lies completely abandoned .