We keep coming back to China. We've already highlighted the fact that it's the most industrialized nation on Earth, and perhaps we shouldn't completely blame them for that. All countries have to make money, and the Chinese have proven to be especially effective at finding solutions for that.
Not all of those solutions are great for the planet. This ornate looking overhead shot is actually field upon field of farmland, all devoted to growing only one kind of plant. Such fields are all over China and many neighboring countries. By planting so many of the same kind of crop, farmers have driven out what used to be here. That's usually a thriving forest, or a 'natural' field where many other forms of plant grew side by side. A diverse ecosystem is well defended against many kinds of natural disaster. Fields of a single species are not; they're just one outbreak of disease away from becoming barren.
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.