Not everybody you come across in life fits neatly into a pigeon hole, or behaves in the way that you expect them to behave. Just because you're a wise and elderly university lecturer doesn't mean that you can't also be a totally awesome skateboarder in your spare time. Just ask Tom Winter.
Winter has retired from his lecturing days now, but still pursues skateboarding, which he always used to consider to be an easier and more environmentally-friendly way to get into work than driving, or waiting around for public transport. He became something of an internet hero when the first images of him were posted online, with the original picture often being captured to suggest that he had a formal qualification in something cool. You're never too old to do the things you love - we're just sad that we missed out on the opportunity to sit in Winter's classes!
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.