As well as having a film of junk floating around above it, and the constant threat of death by unexpected meteor strike, our planet has another thing to worry about - it's putting on weight. And there really isn't much we can do about it because the extra weight is falling out of the sky.
Every day, about 100 tons of meteoroids fall to earth; usually just fragments of space dust and debris, but occasionally full-sized rocks. Until recently, scientists didn't have any way of knowing where they were coming from, or predicting where they would land, but since 2011 they've been monitored by a series of smart cameras deployed by NASA, which track every item entering the Earth's atmosphere. Because the majority of the Earth's surface is uninhabited, the fragments usually land in the ocean, or on deserts, or in forests, so it's rare for you to find one in your back yard - but if you do, now you can log onto NASA's website and find out what is and where it came from.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.