Some tales from history
1) The Egyptian pharoah Cheotep ordered a vast underground vault to be built to contain his remains when he died. 400,000 slaves toiled for 23 years to complete it, and then he had them all slaughtered to avoid grave-robbers finding out the location. Oops! He had forgotton to ask them where they built it. He was buried in a shed.

2) American billionaire JD Rockerfeller didn't want to buy just any watch. He wanted the most expensive watch in the world. So esteemed Swiss manufacturer Breuget fashioned a pocket watch from an apple-sized diamond on a strap of woven platinum. The watch was so valuable that it had to be kept in a safe at all times for insurance purposes and he had to carry the safe everywhere in a wheelbarrow, opening it when he wanted to know the time. Unfortunately, his clumsy manservant slipped one day while wheeling the safe up the gangplank to a yacht and it sank beyond the reach of divers.

3) Chinese emperor Qui Fung was a man of grand gestures. He ordered that a palace be built out of pure gold. After 37 years, his dream had been realised and he was invited to it's grand unveiling. Unfortunately, he had been dead for the last 17 years and no one had told the builders. The palace was used to keep lawnmowers.

4) Hollywood star Angelina Jolie was at a party and heard some English tourists talking about curry. She asked them which was the best curry house in Britain and they replied that it was Delhi Dreams in Bradford. Quick as a flash, she got on the phone and arranged to have a selection of dishes flown directly to her by private jet. Just four hours later, the dishes arrived and she tasted them... only to discover that she was violently allergic to cumin and coriander. It all went in the bin and she'd wasted 47.000 dollars.

5) Eccentric Venezuelan billionaire Jose Cuava had always wanted to spend his dying days in the most beautiful place on Earth. He arranged to be flown to the Maldives, where he would bob in the sea and breathe his last. Unfortunately, his cloth-eared pilot misheard the destination and Jose crashlanded in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, on a rainy Wednesday afternoon.
(frankspencer, Wed 31 Oct 2007, 17:03, 2 replies)

Dehli Dreams
I thought it was Birmingham's Balti Towers or maybe Shirley's Temple. Maybe.
( abefroman skating on the thin life of modern life on, Wed 31 Oct 2007, 17:22, closed)

Wakefield!
I spend most of my time trying to get there, I'd love to crash land there!
( vix0r was not Matthew on, Wed 31 Oct 2007, 18:28, closed)