All meat lovers know how special a good, charred bit of meat on the barbeque is. Whether it's ribs, wings, sausages, steak, or chops, it simply seems to taste better when it's charred just right. Don't ask us for the scientific explanation, we just know it to be true. Sadly, for all of us, putting down the tongs for good is looking like a sensible idea, as charred meat has been found to contain cancer-causing properties.
Meats cooked at high temperatures, i.e. so hot that they end up charring, form chemicals that are now known to cause changes in DNA. These DNA changes lead to an increased risk of pancreatic, colorectal, and prostate cancer. Next time you're cooking up meat for dinner, try baking, poaching, or stir frying it instead to reduce your cancer risk.
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.