As the ice sheets melt, we're causing problems for more species than just humanity. The residents of Tuvalu and other island nations are debating if and when they might have to abandon their homes. Polar bears are watching as their territory disappears from in front of them, with no idea how or why.
This image captures a polar bear and its cub cautiously wandering across very thin ice. Polar bears are completely dependent upon sea ice; it's their natural habitat. They walk across it to find fish and other forms of food, and they have preferred hunting spots. As the ice grows thinner, the bears can lose the walkways to their hunting spots, and worse still, their walkways to each other. That means small polar bear families are left alone and marooned, in constant peril of either drowning or starving to death because there's nowhere for them to find food.
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.