I was 19 at the time.
(15 when I fell under the spell of the English Hollywood star Dawn Adams—pictured from that period.)
I had just got off the underground at Woodford Green station (which is above ground) and was making my way through the station car park. Just ahead of me, a woman was bent over, putting something in the back seat of her car. She was wearing a short green skirt, of wool possibly, which clung tightly to her bottom.
I was overcome by the most excruciating sexual longing. It is easy to imagine what I might have done in another civilisation, at another time. As it was, there was no reason why she would even have noticed that I had walked by her.
It was a five-minute walk to the house where I was staying at the time. There was no one else in when I arrived. So I was able to indulge my overwhelming excitement, and dissipate the pressure—using my imagination.
This episode has stayed in my mind for over 60 years.
In stories, misers have moments of gloating over their riches (or their possessions). But really the longing for money or possessions, like the longing for power or the longing for fame, isn’t revealed in episodes.
Sexual longings are. And that is why sexual episodes figure so often in the media. Businessmen lose their place on the board (and the money that goes with it). Politicians lose their place in the Cabinet (and the power that goes with it). Famous people lose their following.
This may makes it seem obvious that sex is a more powerful force than its competitors.
However, the power of any such force depends on the person and the circumstances. As a recent contribution to this thread puts it, the obvious may obscure the true.
Each of the “demon drivers” can be equally dangerous.