We're back in China again for what might be the most tragic of all their industrialization tales. Around 70% of all the world's electronic waste ends up in China, mainly through illegal transportation because international law forbids waste transfer on this scale. Guiyu seems to be the Chinese Government's preferred dumping ground for this waste, which has had appalling consequences for the city.
The world's media have dubbed Guiyu 'the electronic graveyard' due to the effect of toxic chemicals from electronic waste infecting the area. It has a much higher than average rate of miscarriages, but the news is worse for children who have already been born. Tests have revealed that a sickening 88% of all the children who live in Guiyu suffer from lead poisoning as a direct consequence of the local environment. With printer cartridges being washed out into the rivers, and acid baths used to strip salvage materials, most of the wildlife is already dead or dying.
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.