It was the hair in your tuna tartare, the flat tire on your new Bentley.

WSJ: Standard & Poor's 500 Had a Good Year in 2011 -- If You Don't Count Too-Big-To-Fail Banks

Barstow police said Brooks and the tow operator argued about Brooks' unwillingness to pay for fixing a flat tire on the freeway in Barstow.

NPR: Freeway Chase Led To Ex-Nev. Lawmaker's Arrest

Brooks was arrested near the Stoddard Wells Road exit after leading officers on the chase with a flat tire, authorities said.

NPR: Freeway Chase Led To Ex-Nev. Lawmaker's Arrest

Then, crossing over the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey, he hit the mother of all potholes and blew out the front left run-flat tire.

FORBES: Measuring the Distance Between a Brand Promise and a Brand Experience

After making the mistake of listening to Mike Francesca spend no fewer than 20 minutes describing how he replaced a flat tire, I finally learned that billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg is planning to run the New York Marathon as scheduled this Sunday.

FORBES: Bloomberg's Marathon Mistake And Other Post-Sandy New York Sports

Fortunately, the rest stop had a garage, but the guys just stared at our mangled run-flat tire and shrugged.

FORBES: Measuring the Distance Between a Brand Promise and a Brand Experience

In the summer, temperatures on the valley floor can reach 120 degrees and a flat tire on an open stretch of road can get you in trouble fast.

NPR: Students Blossom in the Desert

To add to her troubles that first night, her fiance, who was following her to New Orleans that morning in a rented truck, had gotten a flat tire outside of Mobile and was stranded on the side of the road.

NPR: A New Orleans Stoop: Solace After the Storm

In the short, a young Parisian cyclist whom Sylvain rescues from a flat tire ends up a victim of his romantic benevolence.

NEWYORKER: A World Without Women

From Ladera Ranch, the gunman headed north and pulled off Interstate 5 in Tustin, about 20 miles away, with a flat tire, police said.

NPR: Official: Calif. Gunman Was Loner, 'Gamer'