Organizers of the Shanghai World Expo were sweating over its first weeks, and it wasn't because of the muggy summer weather.

Attendance figures weren't nearly what had been expected. Things have picked up as of late, though. More than half a million visitors crammed onto the expo grounds on June 5th, coming in at just a shade under the all time record for one day expo attendance set in Montreal in 1967.

People in line for some of the more popular pavilions—like Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the U.S.'s—have had to queue up for four or five hours for what's usually no more than a twenty minute trip through each pavilion.

By and large, countries staging expo pavilions have chosen to showcase their softer, cultural sides, and here, Iraq is no exception. Anyone expecting an education on the country's present day troubles had best look elsewhere.