All I can say is thank god for the Americans making you apply for your visa online weeks before you travel, if it wasn't for them I wouldn't have found out I'd lost my passport until days before we were due to fly out on holiday!
We decided to apply online for the visas and I found my passport wasn't where it usually is .... after turning the house upside down I can only conclude that I've accidentally thrown it away with a load of old paperwork :(
Thankfully I've got enough time to apply for a new one without too much of a panic but I still feel pretty supid !