There's a little bit of controversy about this one, so we're just going to take it at face value, explain what you're seeing, and let you judge for yourself. This photo, taken by Darren Pearson, allegedly shows the path of a lightning bolt striking a tree and dissipating through the roots as the tree absorbs the shock. Pearson claims that he took the image on a long exposure, and therefore was able to chart the flow of the electricity through the tree.
If he's to be believed, then what we're seeing is a purple-white hot glow in the center of the tree as the bolt first strikes it, which then fades to blue as the charge passes down into the roots, before fading out completely. It seems incredible that a tree could survive such a blow, but they do it routinely. Many critics on the internet have suggested that the image is fake, and the details of the strike have been added in using Photoshop or other photo manipulation.
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.