10. “The Walrus was Paul”

Here’s a bit of a disappointing one to start with – the clue comes from “Glass Onion” on the White Album, when John sings – “well here’s another clue for you all/The walrus was Paul”. Theorists got excited over the mention of Paul in the lyrics and rumors started flying that walrus was a Scandanavian word, meaning death. Unfortunately, a little digging reveals that the word is derived from the Old Norse “rosmhvalr”, which means…walrus. Sorry folks!

9. Billy Shears

This clue all ties in with the man that was said to have replaced Paul – William Shears Campbell, winner of the 1965 Paul lookalike competition. When the band are announcing the arrival of Billy Shears at the start of Sgt Pepper, they are actually introducing the new version of Paul. It’s also a bit of wordplay, as “Billy Shears” can be willfully misheard as “Billy’s here.”

Apparently, a picture of the real Billy (above) appears on the poster that was given away with the White Album, and he had plastic surgery to look more like the real Paul. Still, die-hard fans claim to notice differences between Paul and William, whom they christened “Faul”. Some even say that there is a 2-inch height difference and the color of his eyes has changed. As recently as 2010, things “Faul” said in interviews were still being picked apart for discrepancies.

8. Magical Mystery Tour Cover Art

An obscure one next, from the fittingly obscure Magical Mystery Tour EP. On the cover, the word “Beatles” is spelled out in stars, but if you put a mirror up to it, it comes up with a number – 2317438. What’s the significance of the number? It’s meant to be the telephone number of a London mortuary, but there’s no evidence that anyone ever called this number to find out.

The clues don’t end there though – there’s a cartoon of Paul, with a cracked head, labelled “The Fool on the Hill”. There’s a picture of all 4 Beatles where Paul is wearing a black carnation, and the others are wearing red. And then there’s a picture of Paul, sitting in front of a poster that says “I was”. Enough for you yet? Don’t worry, there’s more to come….

7. Revolution 9

This track from the White Album is largely inexplicable, with its strings of gibberish, strange noises and Yoko Ono droning “number 9″ over and over again. But again it contains clues that point to Paul’s demise. Lyrics like “his voice was low and his eye was high and his eyes were closed” and “intended to die” are meant to refer to Paul, but the real giveaway is when you play it backwards. There’s the noise of a car crash, a scream and then the repeated phrase “turn me on dead man”. It seems there is some point to that track after all…

6. Lyrical Prophecy

A bit of a red herring next. Many conspiracy-theory sites list the lyric “I was alone I took a ride I didn’t know what I would find there” as another pointer, but the theory collapses under scrutiny. That line was taken from “Got to Get You Into My Life”, a track from Revolver (above). Revolver was released on 5 August 1966, a full 3 months and 4 days before Paul’s supposed accident. I think we can safely rule this one out, unless it was Paul singing about his own death. Now, that really would be spooky…

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10. Chubbles

On the surface, Chubbles appears as a perfectly normal toy bear, or ‘teddy bear’. According to the above picture we have reason at all to think otherwise. Oh how wrong we all are. The truth is, Chubbles has a secret, a very dark and sinister secret in fact- he talks. Well, I say talk, what I really mean is that he makes a weird bleeping noise which lands somewhere between an over-excited Ewok (which is fitting as I suppose he does look a bit like one) and an alien space craft. Activated either light or noise, I can think of few worse things than being awoken by Chubbles’ screaming in the dead of the night.

9. Lawn Darts

Now, hailing from the UK I was only ever aware of Lawn Darts from that Jim Carrey movie ‘Me, Myself and Irene’. That was until I began research for this list. In the movie, Hank, Mr Carrey’s aggressive alter-ego, purchases Lawn Darts as part of his survival kit with which he intends to save Ms Renne Zellweger, in this scenario the plucky damsel in distress, alongside a bottle of red wine and a dildo. Whilst this does imply that Lawn Darts may have a dark streak to them, I was shocked to discover that they are intended as toys for children aged 3 and above. Further reading uncovered the chilling information that upon their release, three kids died in the US as a direct result of injuries caused by the ‘toys’.

8. Baby Laugh-a-lot

There’s really not much I can say about this particular toy. As can be imagined, it is a baby doll which possesses the unique and charming ability to laugh. Sounds nice eh? Well, it’s really really not nice, or at all acceptable. YouTube the TV commercial, you won’t believe it.

7. Living Dead Dolls

This collection of intriguing doll models first appeared on store shelves in the late 1990’s. They are unique amongst the other candidates on this list, solely in the sense that they are completely designed to be creepy. Manufactured by Mezco Toyz since 2000, the original handmade models fetch a fairly decent price amongst collectors and are rumoured to have inspired the creators of smash horror movies such as ‘Chucky’ and ‘Saw’.

6. Blippy in the Box

Call me soft, but Blippy is a character likely to stay deeply rooted in my subconscious for the rest of my now cursed life. We’re all I’m sure aware of the ancient concept of the ‘jack in a box’, with many of us likely to spend the ensuing seconds reminiscing on the good times spent alone in the company of our old surprisingly surprising friends. Now if I can have your attention back for a minute, I’d like to state my case as to why Blippy, and all evidence to show that he ever existed, should be wiped clean off the face of the planet. Basically, I’ve narrowed it down to any one of two likelihoods: a) he’s an evil alien plotting the end of the human race one uninvited room intrusion at a time, or b) he’s an alien spy device sent to keep tabs on us/brainwash our kids. You choose.

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What you don’t see is the hidden cost of the stunts. A surprising number of accidents happen on film sets, with stuntpeople being killed scarily regularly. It’s tragic, but the movie carries on and the audience generally have no idea what happened behind the scene. So here are our Top 10 Films Where Stunts Went Wrong.

10. Semi-Pro

Will Ferrell is known as a man who likes to do slightly off-the-wall stunts. Just look at his 2006 movie “Talledega Nights” where he drives around with a cougar in the car (and yes, the animal kind). So it was no surprise to anyone that he wanted to wrestle a grizzly bear int his 2008 movie “Semi-Pro”. the unexpected – and tragic – thing was the bear turned on its trainer, Stephan Miller, and viciously attacked him. He sadly died on set.

Rocky the bear had experience in many films and had been previously described as “the best working bear in the business” by Stephan’s brother Randy, so it is unclear why it chose to attack that day. But it’s a stark warning to Hollywood that “tame” animals are never quite tame.

9. The Sound of Music

You would expect to see action-packed, gorefest “Sound of Music” on here, wouldn’t you? Well, here it is…and it’s proof that on-set accidents aren’t just the preserve of action movies. During the filming of the dance number “16 going on 17″ (above) , Charmain Carr, who played Liesl, slipped on a bench and went straight through the glass pane of the gazebo they were dancing in. She sprained her ankle, but it was bandaged up and she finished the dance. Luckily, it was one of the last scenes to be filmed so she had time to recover. If you look carefully at older versions of the film, you can see the bandage.

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:Part 1

Another unlikely contender for this list – during the filming of the last Harry Potter book, Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double David Holmes fell from his harness and suffered a serious spinal injury. At the time, it looked as though he would never recover but his current state of health is unknown. 2009 reports suggested that he was paralyzed from the waist down and his IMDb page shows no further work since the last Harry Potter films. Daniel Radcliffe paid tribute to his stuntman at the tome, describing him as an “amazing gymnast” and it seems that the film world may have lost his talent forever.

7. Syriana

Another spinal injury on set, from 2005 political thriller “Syriana”. George Clooney suffered an injury when he cracked his head during a torture scene, and it was later discovered that he had fluid leaking from his spine. It turned out to be a 2-and-a-half inch spinal tear, aggravated by the 35lbs he piled on for the role.

The subsequent pain, managed only by Vicodin, drove Clooney almost to the point of suicide and he later said that the weight gain was “stupid”. He was bedridden for a month and had severe migraines but finally overcame the pain with therapy, although it has never disappeared completely.

6. Aeon Flux

I always worry when actors declare their intentions to do their own stunts. Stuntpeople are trained for years and are in the peak of physical fitness and they still have accidents on a regular basis – how does an actor compete with that. So, Charlize Theron’s decision to do her own stunts in 2004 sci-fi action movie “Aeon Flux” was maybe not the wisest. She performed a series of backflips while wearing heels and fell onto her neck, herniating a disc close to her spinal cord. She was lucky to escape paralysis and vowed never to do stunts again. It’s good to see someone learning from their mistakes…

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10. Agricola

Agricola

If being a peasant farmer in the Middle Ages was fun, we ‘d still be living that way, right? But Agricola, from Z-Man Games, makes subsistence farming enjoyable. Players are farmers living in wooden shacks with their spouses, collecting building materials, building fences and striving to expand the farm (and the farmer’s family). Since there are a lot of moving parts, more serious gamers may enjoy this more. Still, for a game set in the Dark Ages, it’s much lighter than you might expect.

9. Stone Age

Stone Age

Stone Age, from Rio Grande Games (which made a number of the games on this list), is a game about gathering resources. If you think collecting corn and wood sounds boring, you’ve never played Stone Age. Players work as hunters, collectors, farmers and tool makers, seeking to grow their population by collecting important resources. While the road to victory may seem clear, sneaky players can collect less obvious victory points by collecting special cards. Make your own bonus entertainment by talking like cavemen, but remember to use more sophisticated vocabulary as your civilization grows.

8. The Castles of Burgundy

The Castles of Burgundy

They say not to judge a book by its cover, and The Castles of Burgundy (by German game-maker Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH) is a good example. Judging by the washed-out looking board and pieces, it would be easy to believe this was a ho-hum game. But even if building cities in the Burgundy region of High Medieval France doesn’t sound like party time to you, give this game a chance. Players collect tiles to settle regions, with dice rolls dictating the actions they can take. In addition to building settlements, players practice trade along the river, exploit silver mines, and use the knowledge of travelers, for multiple ways to win. The element of surprise is strong in this game: watch out for the quieter players who may be finding creative ways to undercut you, while you’re distracted elsewhere.

7. Speicherstadt

Speicherstadt

As a wholesaler in 1900 Hamburg (Z-Man Games), players unload goods from ships to put them in storehouses. How exciting! But acquire the right goods and sell them at a profit, and you can be on the path to winning. Invest in fire protection, though, because an unexpected warehouse fire can foil all your plans. Just in case you think this game is all about acquisition and strategy, the auction aspect of the game can amp up the excitement, as players vie for the best deals.

6. Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride

While three-year-olds would clap their hands at the prospect of competing to build railway systems, many adults would simply roll their eyes. Yet, Ticket to Ride (by Days of Wonder) combines strategy with luck for unpredictable play. The players choose routes they plan to build, then collect the correct cards to build different lines. Those who complete their routes control them, causing other players to have to reroute. This easy-to-learn game provides plenty of opportunities for scheming, strategy, and sabotage.

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10. Stephen Fry

British comedian Stephen Fry made his name in the 1980s, with his comedy partner Hugh Laurie and is now regarded as a national treasure. He is highly intelligent, presents a quiz show that debunks popular beliefs and he suffers from bipolar disorder. He describes it as a “disease that will never go away” and said that he filmed whole episodes of his quiz show while being so depressed he wanted to die. In 1995, he had a nervous breakdown and walked out on a play he was in in the West End. Following that, he went missing for a few days before resurfacing in Belgium. He is now the President of mental health charity Mind.

9. Robin Williams

A comic whose quickfire wit hid a barrage of personal problems. His first marriage lasted just ten years, and his affair during it saw him being sued by a cocktail waitress for infecting her with herpes. He had a cocaine addiction throughout the 1970s and 80s, until the death of his friend John Belushi gave him what he describes as a “wake-up call” and he went into rehab. He later returned to rehab when he started drinking again in 2006. He later admitted on TV that he was lucky to be alive still and it would have been a tragic waste of talent if he had died because of his excesses. Fortunately, even when he started drinking again, he resisted the lure of cocaine because he said “I knew that would kill me”. He continues to get help for his addictions.

8. John Belushi

John Belushi, however, was not so lucky. After partying with Robin Williams for years, he died on March 5 1982 at Chateau Marmont, on the Sunset Strip. He had been out drinking and retired back to the hotel for more drinking and drugs. Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro came by at 3am and then left Belushi for the rest of the night. He finally went to sleep at 9:30am, after injecting himself with a heroin and cocaine speedball, but was found dead at lunchtime. Prior to his death, he was a hugely successful comedian, co-creating cult film “The Blues Brothers”, but his addictions overwhelmed him and the comedy world lost a rising star. It did, however, serve as stark warning to his celebrity friends that it could happen to them too.

7. Charlie Sheen

This was one star who failed to keep his private and professional lives separate. While other comedians sustained their careers while battling addictions, Charlie Sheen’s very public meltdown caused him to be fired from his hit show “Two and a Half Men“. His character was killed off in a very undignified way, and the producers humiliated him further by shooting a funeral scene where his character’s reputation (also called Charlie) was ripped to shreds by various ex-girlfriends. If you annoy producers, they will exact their revenge.

The warning signs had all been there for a while – in 1990, he accidentally shot his fiancee in the arm and his 2005 divorce from Denise Richards cited drug and alcohol abuse and threats of violence. In 2008, his sons were taken away from him following the break up of his third marriage. Then in 2011, it all peaked with the public argument between Sheen and his producers after which he posted an hour-long rant on the internet, flanked by his “goddesses” and babbling about “tiger blood”. He may have made his name in comedy, but he destroyed it in a painful and very public way.

6. Whoopi Goldberg

Another much-loved comedian and actress who has struggled with addiction and depression. She has been married three times, although she claims not to have loved any of her husbands. She describes her former self as a “fully functioning addict” and worked throughout her addiction, knowing that she needed to keep making films in order to raise her profile. However, she was suffering from paranoia and eventually got help. She has now been clean for several years and has used her story to encourage other young actors to seek help.

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It’s not just an American thing either – Britain in the 1970s produced some classic PSAs that gave kids (and adults) nightmares for weeks afterwards. And there was also one featuring the guy who played Darth Vader (body, not voice), ushering kids across a road in a not-remotely-scary manner. The English countryside accent he uses in the narration showed exactly why James Earl Jones got the gig in the end. That particular film may not have been pant-wettingly terrifying, but don’t worry we’ve unearthed some that are. In our Top 10 most disturbing public service announcements!

10. Meth Cleaner Girl (USA)

Undoubtedly the most catchy advert in our list, this was put out by the Montana Meth Project. “I don’t eat, I don’t sleep but I’ve got the cleanest house in the street” sang Cleaner Girl, backed by a chorus who hummed and sang “Meth!” in an enthusiastic way. The message was fairly clear – crystal meth will make you paranoid and delusional – but it did also seem to suggest that there was a real upside to this drug. You would have a sparkling clean house and if you were lucky, a gospel choir might follow you around doing backing vocals for you. Altogether now…”Meth! Mmmmm…Meth!”

9. Suicide Bombers (Iraq)

One of the most disturbing things about this film is the fact that they needed to make it at all. The take-home message is “Don’t blow yourself up in a public space” but you’d imagine the vast majority of people had no intention of doing that anyway. I think we’re meant to be most distressed by the kid’s shoe landing on top of the car, but I’m mainly disturbed by the fact anyone had to make this.

8. Boys Beware (USA)

This, on the other hand, is verging on funny so outdated is its message and attitude. It should be a museum piece for its demonstration of just how far gay rights have come in the last 60 years.  Starting with the worrying assertion that “lots of young people hitchhike – it seems like a good way to get from one place to another”, it warns of a potentially dire consequence should you choose this method of transport…the driver might be a homosexual!

Really? I’ve seen movies about hitchhikers and the kind of people that pick them up – a little light fondling is nothing compared to being dragged off to a torture barn by some redneck.But clearly, the message wasn’t hard-hitting enough because the “overly friendly” homosexual is then seen to invite the clean-cut Jimmy into his den of sin and he emerges alone. What happened to Jimmy, Ralph-The-Homosexual? You may “appear normal” but you seem to make a habit of kidnapping young men. It’s all almost too over-the-top and funny to be offensive, but the very real homophobia behind it is disturbing enough.

7. Lonely Water (UK)

“I am the spirit of dark and lonely water” intones Donald Pleasance, an actor famous for portraying villains on stage and screen. This British film from 1973 warned children to be sensible near water, otherwise the spirit would get them. Of course, as he says near the end, he has no power over the sensible children, ignoring the fact that sensible children are just as likely to drown as the “show-offs” or “the unwary”. Accidents happen, but in this world the victims are entirely to blame. And a generation of British kids refused to swim anywhere ever again, just in case that man in the hooded black robe turned up. It’s the stuff of nightmares.

6. There Really Are No Accidents (Canada)

In the same vein, accidents in Canada always have to be blamed on someone. Sometimes it’s the victim, sometimes it’s their line manager. At least, that’s the message behind There Really Are No Accidents, a “hard-hitting” campaign against lax Health and Safety procedures at work. Did you fall off a ladder while trying to fix a light and somehow crash your head through a glass table? There should be a procedure covering that! Presumably so that when the next person dies doing the same thing, you can shake your head smugly and assert “it was their own fault”.

The message I took from them was not to go to work shortly before big family occasions. One man was taking his family on vacation before the fates decided to meddle in that plan and blow him up. A sous chef was getting married! Not with a melted-off face you won’t. That won’t look good in the wedding photos. Remember kids – always have a written policy. And use two people to change a light bulb.

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10. H. Beam Piper

H. Beam Piper

At the time of his suicide at age 60, H. Beam Piper (born Henry Beam Piper) was not nearly as unsuccessful a writer as he believed. In a tragic coincidence, his agent had died before being able to notify him about multiple sales. While Piper was published in several magazines during his lifetime, it was not until his entire oeuvre was posthumously reprinted by publisher Ace Science Fiction that his work won over legions of new science fiction fans.

9. Nathaniel West

Nathaniel West

A screenwriter and novelist, Nathaniel West (born Nathan von Wallenstein Weinstein) attracted little attention for his work before his death at age 37 in a car accident. Only after his collected novels were published 17 years later by New Directions did his work begin to receive critical acclaim. His novel “Miss Lonelyhearts” is considered his masterpiece, while his “The Day of the Locust” remains an insightful novel about the early days of Hollywood, based on his experiences as a screenwriter. His novels today are regarded as an important look at the issues of his day, including the Great Depression, and his work had been compared to John Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

8. James Agee

James Agee

Like Nathaniel West, James Agee was both a writer and screenwriter, achieving only modest recognition in life. Also a poet, he was primarily known for his film criticism in his lifetime. He was 45 when he died of a heart attack, and his posthumously-published novel, “A Death in the Family,” won a Pulitzer Prize three years later. Thanks to that recognition, interest in his other works grew, eventually earning him a place amongst the most respected 20th Century American writers.

7. John Kennedy Toole

John Kennedy Toole

Pulitzer-Prize-winning author John Kennedy Toole was only aspiring author John Kennedy Toole in his short lifetime. In fact, the novel that won that honor, “A Confederacy of Dunces,” was rejected for publication by Simon & Schuster while he was alive. Despite some revisions, Toole could not convince editor Robert Gottlieb to change his mind. At the time that he committed suicide, at only 31, Toole could never have predicted his novel would go on to achieve such accolades. But his grieving mother showed the manuscript to novelist Walker Percy, who made sure the book got published. Twelve years after his death, Toole was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Featuring an antihero who is both physically and personally distasteful, “A Confederacy of Dunces” is now required reading in many literary courses. If only Toole himself would have known his work would be so acclaimed, he might have lived long enough to write more.

6. Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath

Although she had been published and attracted some followers before her suicide at age 30, Sylvia Plath’s work gained far more recognition after her death. Her semi-autographical novel, “The Bell Jar,” was published only a month before her death and, therefore, she could have had no inkling it would one day form the foundation to so many high school and college English papers. Her “Collected Poems” was honored posthumously in 1981 with a Pulitzer Prize. Her brief life has continued to both inspire poets and to draw attention to the serious condition of depression.

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10. Man’s Wedding Ring Deflects Bullet

It is becoming a common debate whether the institution of marriage is growing outdated. For Donnie Register, his marriage literally saved his life. Mr. Register was at the register when two armed men stuck him up. Confusion happened and Donnie lifted his left arm towards his assailants. A gun was leveled at his head and went off. The bullet hit his wedding band and was redirected away from his vital area. Pieces of the bullet remain lodged in nonthreatening locations of his finger and neck tissue. Donnie’s experience proves that the life-saving capabilities of cherished valuables are not simply a tv show cliché. This experience might not be as miraculous as the rest of the list, but it serves as an example of where luck meets the astounding in everyday life.

9. Mary Appears on a Florida Finance Building

It seems that the Virgin Mary is always getting her jollies through this miracle thing. Sometimes she shows up in the most random of places. This is exactly what happened in 1996, when she decided to pop her image on an office building in Clearwater, Florida. Her image started dull and grew in distinction over a series of months. The image stuck in the glass windows and the building was soon purchased by Shepherds of Christ Ministries. A statue was erected outside and visitors poured in by the truckload. Sadly, all good miracles come to an end and someone eventually knocked out the glass panes bearing Mary’s head with slingshot. Whether religious or not, most people believe that this manifestation was a curiosity that should have been preserved. Our world is so much more interesting with effigies on office buildings.

8. Boy Comes Back Alive For a Short Time

Imagine you are at a wake for a loved one while a eulogy is being read. Suddenly, the same lifeless body that had been laid out all day suddenly rises, asks for water, and lays back down dead as ever. This roller coaster of emotion is precisely what happened to the family of Kelvin Santos, in Brazil, 2012. Kelvin miraculously sat upright looking to his father for something to drink. The resurrection was miraculous, but it ranks low on our list because of what happened next. Before his father could fathom seeing his son alive again the moment was robbed from him. What followed is a dramatic protest of the hospital that had initially pronounced him deceased. The truth behind the events that transpired in this episode are so far unexplained, and so remain a bittersweet, modern miracle.

7. Nature is Miraculous: The Kiwi Gives Birth

Let us not overlook the inconceivability of nature’s design. Natural systems, unseen energies and a huge collection of evolutionary curiosities have scientists searching for answers and then more questions that those answers beg. From creatures that glow in the dark to frogs that can be frozen only to unfreeze and hop away alive as happy as can be. There are many bizarre things that nature throws our way, but I have chosen the kiwi’s process of birth. The kiwi lays the largest egg (and probably the largest anything) per body mass on earth. This egg is almost the size of an emu’s, the largest bird in Australia. The egg weighs 16 oz! The above image speaks for itself. Nature provides us with some truly phenomenal stuff.

6. Incorruptible Corpses: Rita of Cascia

The incorruptible corpse is a truly phenomenal, if not painstakingly long to decipher, event. Basically, someone dies, and for whatever reason their corpse is either unburied, uncovered, or otherwise observed. The catch is that when these bodies are viewed they look as if they had literally just died. Even more surprising is that there are a number of these corpses, many of them even being over a thousand years old. The competition to make this list was stiff, but ultimately Rita of Cascia took the prize due to the lore surrounding her. It has been reported and verified that her body actually moves from time to time. The extent of this spectacle is skeptically debated, but there are indisputably times where her face needs to be readjusted, usually her eyebrows and eyes that have a habit of opening.

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What makes a great circuit? Hairpin turns, scary gradients, super-fast straights? How about spectacular settings or years of motor racing tradition? Our list of the Top 10 Motor Racing Circuits has all these things and more!

10. Indianapolis Motor Speedway

To look at the layout of this track, you wouldn’t really think much of it – it’s an oval, with four round corners and nothing else, but it has an impressive history. Built in 1909, it was the first “Speedway” in the world and saw drama from its first racing event. Halfway through the first 250mile race on August 19, Louis Chevrolet got a stone in the face which smashed his goggles and temporarily blinded him. Then Wilfred Bourque flipped his car and crashed into a fence post, killing both him and his mechanic. After a disastrous first day, officials threatened to cancel the rest of the event, but the second day passed without accidents and some speed records were broken. Then on the third day, as people gathered for a 350mile grand finale, Charlie Metz’s tyre blew out, causing him to crash into fenceposts, killing two spectators and his mechanic. Ten laps later, Bruce Keen also crashed into a bridge support, thanks to a pothole in the track.

Luckily, the safety record at the track has much improved since those dramatic first days! It is now the highest-capacity stadium-type facility in the world, with a permanent capacity of 257,325, and it is home to the Indianapolis 500mile race, as well as the Brickyard 400.

9. Circuit de Spa Francorchamps

Now this is a circuit in a beautiful setting. Among the rolling hills of Belgium, this is known as one of the most challenging tracks in the world, due to its twisting, hilly nature. Originally, the track used normal roads, around three towns with houses and farms right next to the track, It was fast, exciting but also deadly and there were several fatalities in the 1960s, including two driver deaths in 15 minutes at the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix, along with a severe injury for Stirling Moss.  A boycott of the Grand Prix in 1969 led to some additional safety measures, but these were only partially effective and there were more deaths during the 1973 and 1975 24 Hours of Spa races. Additionally, in 1972, a warning went up above the noise of the race – “Look out for body parts at the Masta Kink”. Driver Jochen Mass heeded the warning and arrived at the kink, expecting car parts all over the road. He was appalled to find out it was actually human body parts, due to the death of a marshal.

Unsurprisingly, the popularity of the track dwindled and a shortened track was opened in 1981, with considerably fewer fatalities, but the track remains extremely challenging and the unpredictable Belgian weather doesn’t help!

8. Targa Florio

Another challenging European race, this was run on the Circuito Piccolo delle Modenie in Sicily. The circuit was full of mountain roads and hairpin bends and was one of Europe’s most important races in the mid 1920s. By 1973, however, concerns were being voiced about the safety of the course, notably by Helmut Marko who called the track “totally insane.” Two fatalities and several other accidents in the race that year meant that the event lost international status, and continued being run as a national event until another 2 deaths in 1977 forced police to intervene and stop the race. Since then, it has continued as a rallying event.

7. Mount Panorama

If sharp gradient changes make a circuit interesting, then this Australian course has it sown up. It’s on a gradient of 174m, and all set against the scenic backdrop of New South Wales countryside. The track is all public roads, which are only closed on race days. Pity the people whose homes are only accessible from the circuit!

As you’d expect from such a spectacularly sloping course, it has seen its share of accidents. Since the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in 1938, there have been 18 deaths on the circuit (16 drivers, 2 spectators) although that includes Denny Hulme, who suffered a heart attack behind the wheel, which can’t be blamed on the course unless it was just too exciting!

Mount Panorama is near the town of Bathurst, which is notable for its resident Big Thing, the Big Gold Panner.

6. Laguna Seca

This course was built on a dry lagoon, and is chiefly famous for it “corkscrew” turn at turns 8 and 8a, giving it a rollercoaster feel. It also has the double-apex “Andretti Hairpin”, named after Formula 1 champion Mario Andretti.

For a track with such challenging turns, it has seen relatively few accidents, although Uruguayan driver Gonzalo “Gonchi” Rodríguez was killed during practices in 1999, which caused the installation of run-offs at that point. It is now safe enough that last year, a Ferrari crashed and came off the track at the Corkscrew and the driver walked away unharmed.

The track features in many video games, including Gran Turismo, but is significantly different from real life.

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Wrong! And our Top 10 Embarrassing Oscar Moments are here for you to relive the tears, jeers and cheers of Oscar night.

10. Tom Hanks “Outing” His Teacher (1994)

Such a sweet moment, such an awkward ending. This was one acceptance speech that changed a man’s life without him really wanting it to. As Tom Hanks accepted his Best Actor award for playing a gay lawyer in “Philadelphia”, he thanked his high school drama teacher and described him as one of “the finest gay Americans”. Unfortunately, the teacher – Rawley Farnsworth, retired – had never come out as gay, and so it was a bit of a shock to the 69-year-old’s friends and family.

The story came full circle a few years later, when it inspired the movie ” In & Out“, which was itself nominated for an Oscar (Joan Cusack, Best Supporting Actress). It featured a kiss between Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck, which was controversial at the time. What Mr Farnsworth made of the movie is unknown.

9. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Breakdown (1998)

A career full of movies, a pop star husband and a few strangely-named kids haven’t erased this moment from Gwyneth’s brain. And it’s probably what the rest of us associate with her too. Collecting the Best Actress award for “Shakespeare in Love”, Gwynnie got a little emotional and sobbed as she thanked her family and the “magnitude” of their love. She admits it haunts her still and she often mocks herself for it.

She also had a bit of a fashion faux pas in 2002, when she turned up in a sheer Alexander McQueen number, without a bra. Still, at least she laughs about it too.

8. Bjork’s Swan Dress (2001)

From one fashion mishap to another, Icelandic singer Bjork is no stranger to a wacky outfit, so she must have guessed what the reaction would be to her swan-dress-and-baggy-tights combo. It’s gone down in history as an embarrassing moment, but it was probably more embarrassing for the onlookers – Bjork herself was quite happily skipping about and leaving eggs on the red carpet. She later reused the dress for an album cover, then auctioned it off to charity. Mind you, this is someone who thinks a multi-colored clown wig is a good look!

7. Frank Capra Jumping to Conclusions (1933)

Now, this one is just cringeworthy. Sitting and waiting fror the Best Director Award , Frank Capra was quick to jump up at the words “Come and get it Frank!” and claim the going for “Lady for a Day”. But what host Will Rogers should have said was “Come and get it Frank Lloyd”, as the “Calvacade” director was the rightful winner. Luckily, Capra realised before he got to the stage, but he described the jeer-filled walk back to his seat as “the longest, saddest, most shattering walk in my life”.

6. Cher’s Hooker Look (1988)

Well, when it comes to interesting Oscar looks this one is a classic….There are almost no words to describe it, but I’ll try a few of the politer ones- “daring”, “sheer”, “edgy”, “different”….and that’s about as positive as I can be about this train-wreck. She may have walked away with Best Actress for “Moonstruck”, but she also earned herself a permanent place in the Oscars’ Fashion Hall of Shame.

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