IT’S MORE THAN A WATCH
The watch Steve McQueen made famous in the movie "LeMans" is about to go up for auction and experts predict it might pull $2 million. McQueen wore a Heuer Monaco, not a hot seller before he wore it through out the movie, but is not considered one of company’s hottest models 49 years later. McQueen gave the watch he wore the most (there were six used in the movie) to the mechanic who maintained the Porsche 917, a 200 mph racing car, that McQueen drove in most the movie. Surprisingly enough, McQueen often saw those speeds during filming, so he was grateful that the mechanic had done such a great job of making the car safe and fast.
RACING SUITS AREN’T JUST FOR LOOKING GOOD
Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean’s recent crash into a steel guardrail at 137 mph, which broke his race car in half and caused it to catch fire, proved our how important and effective today’s driver safety equipment has become. It took Romain 28 seconds, in the half of car he was belted into, to free himself and jump clear of the fire. Hard to imagine anyone could be stuck in a fuel-fed fire for that long and not suffer full body third degree burns. Romain’s driver’s suit, designed and constructed in layers to protect the driver for as long as possible, effectively kept his body free of burns. These suits are “fire resistant,” not “fire proof” as so many often call them. All racing drivers wear protective long underwear, a fire resistant hood under their helmet, fire resistant gloves, socks and shoes: The coverage is full body. Grosjean’s only burns occurred on the backside of his hands, the result of the gloves being made of thinner layers to give driver’s hands freedom of movement. The nature of the fire required Romain to reach into his lap to undo his safety belts and that was the time where the flames were the thickest. The bottom line is all the safety equipment he was wearing, including his helmet, did its job under the harshest of tests.
FAME AIN’T TO BLAME
People die in car crashes in the United States 35,000 times a year. Sometimes, some of those people are famous or even famous actors. Jayne Mansfield was very famous when she died in a car accident in 1967. Mansfield was being driven to an interview in New Orleans when the car she was riding in rear-ended a semi trailer which tore the roof off the Buick Electra, killing her and the two male passengers also in the front seat. It was long rumored that she was decapitated, but further study proved she went through the windshield and was ejected from the vehicle. The rumors were likely based on the fact that the blond wig she was wearing at the time remained stuck in the broken windshield. Tragic end to a very beautiful and popular woman.
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