But when a person, like Amanda Bynes, appears to be on a crash-course towards destruction, it may be the only thing that can help her.

FORBES: Amanda Bynes' Comeback Could Begin With A Guardianship

"The main part I have played in this pregnancy was getting her pregnant, " says 19-year-old amateur footballer Callum Coker who decided to go on a five-week crash course for a BBC documentary to find out how to become a supportive birthing partner.

BBC: How it became almost mandatory for dads to attend the birth

Back among the wide boulevards and grandiose monuments of easy-going Yerevan, a bumper crop of museums are on hand to provide a crash course in Armenian culture.

BBC: Five extended weekends from Europe

On a visit to London's prestigious Bartlett School, Quest takes a crash course in design, lends his ideas to a class project and tries to understand why it takes architects so long to get their hands on a real building.

CNN: A Quest to build

While law school taught me how to read a court case and analyze legislation, working at Nordstrom was a crash course in how to think on my feet and provide first-class client service.

FORBES: How Working As A Stock Girl At Nordstrom Prepared Me For Being A Lawyer

Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of the site, called the days since reports of theft and damage to one host's San Francisco home surfaced "a crash course in crisis management" in a blog post on Airbnb.

CNN: Airbnb apologizes: 'We have really screwed things up'

McCain's campaign has sought to give his running mate a crash course in the sorts of issues likely to feature in the Palin-Biden debate on Thursday night.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Let Palin be Palin

The stage got off to a cautious start around a twisting and frequently narrow circuit and it soon became apparent that the riders, spurred by Horrillo's crash, were on a go-slow in protest at what they perceived to be the dangerous nature of the course.

CNN: Cavendish takes stage after riders protest