On October 12th, 1977, the famed hypnotist Romark declared that, in a public display of his remarkable psychic powers, he would drive through Ilford... wearing a blindfold. After placing two coins, a slice of dough, and a thick band over his eyes, Romark climbed into a yellow Renault and set off down Cranbrook Road...

Things went swimmingly until, at the twenty meter mark, the psychic's progress was brought to an abrupt halt by a police van: "That van was parked," he complained, "in a place that logic told me it wouldn't be."

[Until 1981, Helen Ireland held the world record for "fastest failure of a driving test" (earned after mistaking the accelerator for the clutch and shooting through the wall of a Test Centre). The new record-holder? A Lanarkshire auto mechanic, who honked his horn to summon the examiner, prompting him to explain that, as it was illegal to sound the horn while stationary, he had failed his exam in record time.]