Tonight's Instant Index:

From the unconventional and awe-inspiring to the hilarious and heartwarming, here's a look at some of the most interesting photos, videos and stories that have our newsroom talking today. What's capturing your attention, filling your inbox and cluttering your Facebook/Twitter feed? Comment below with the stories you're talking about, tweet them using #InstantIndex or email us at ABC.WorldNews@abc.com and they could appear on World News.

Mission 26 The Big Endeavour This spectacular time-lapse video chronicles the space shuttle Endeavour's 12-mile journey from Los Angeles International Airport to its new home at the California Science Center. Photographer Brian Hawkins who worked on the team that produced the video tweeted it to us.

Big Tex Burns Big Tex, the 52-foot-tall animatronic cowboy that greeted Texas state fair-goers with a friendly "Howdy, folks" for 60 years, burst into flames today and was completely destroyed. Officials believe an electrical fire caused the blaze that engulfed Tex's 75-gallon hat and size 70 boots. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings has already vowed to rebuild the iconic cowboy and "make him better than ever for the 21st century."

Image credit: LM Otero/AP Photo

City in the Clouds No, this is not an artistic rendering of a futuristic city in the sky. This is Dubai. The city's skyline pierced through a morning fog this week and photographer Bjoern Lauen captured the otherworldly image.

Image credit: Bjoern Lauen/National News/Zuma Press

Big Bird = Big Seller If you planned on being Big Bird before the first presidential debate, hopefully you already had your costume. Since Mitt Romney mentioned the 8-foot-tall yellow canary, Big Bird has become the hottest selling Halloween costume this year. Stores and online retailers report Big Bird costumes are in short supply with many sizes and styles already selling out.

Image credit: Disguise, Inc./AP Photo

Giant Shoes to Fill At 7 feet, 8 inches tall, Igor Vovkovinskiy is the tallest man in America, but with great height comes great misfortune. For years it's been nearly impossible for Vovkovinskiy to find shoes to fit his size 24, 10E feet. That changed Thursday when the 30-year-old Minnesota resident went from having one pair of shoes to four, thanks to Reebok. The shoe company spent five months making three pairs of shoes for the modern-day giant. According to Vovkovinskiy, when he tried them on, it felt like he was "walking on pillows or mattresses."

Image credit: Michele Jokinen/Rochester Post-Bulletin/AP Photo