Has anyone had their passport stolen (or lost)?

Neither.

I think the worst case scenario is losing or having PP two or three days before you have to depart,, as you would be stressed worrying about how long it will take to get the replacement and possibly missing your plane. I think losing it while on a tour would be stressful as the tour has to move on,, never in same city for more then a night or two.

Losing it while in one place,, with at least 5 or 6 days till departure ,, well, it would be inconveinent having to waste some time with paperwork and such,, but you would eventually get an emergency PP and would be allowed to go home, LOL

I try not to stress about it too much, keep aware especially anywhere crowded,.. I try to never let people into my "space" bubble( an area around me,, within arms reach). They can't take what they can't reach.

I also leave my PP in my room safe,, or even behind the desk safe if hotel does that.. I prefer not to carry it around day to day. I bring my DL for id ,, never had to use it except at Louvre for audio guide deposit, and I would way rather give them my DL then my PP for that!

Should add, I wear my PP in my money belt when actually travelling.

To make replacement easier, make a color photocopy of your passport info page and carry it with you AND email the scan to yourself so that you can access it from the internet. Best practice is to use a moneybelt or travel wallet and keep the passport inside along with your credit cards and cash.

Peter....have you read "Europe Through the Back Door?" From the amazing amount of questions you've been asking about generic things, you might find answers, and comfort, from the book.

You are over-thinking your trip, Peter. Planning should be fun not worrisome.

It partly depends on where you are. . .big city vs rural area. If city, perhaps my friend's experience will allay some of your concerns. Her pp was in her handbag, which was stolen out of the locked trunk of their car in Dublin, the afternoon before their departure for home. The police had a special officer to deal with such problems. He gave her an official document to present at the airport, and she sailed through with no difficulties. In a rural area, you would probably have to get to someplace bigger, adding to the time and inconvenience. Be sure to have a photocopy and another form of id, like a driver's license carried in a different place. Here's an interesting sidelight. My friend had been doing a house exchange, and the address was in her bag. Someone found the bag dumped in a trash can, and took it to that address. The exchange partner mailed it to her. Everything,including cc's was intact except, of course, the cash. She hadn't gotten around to applying for a new pp and discovered hers was still valid, even though it had been reported as stolen. H-m-m? I am the only one who sees a contradiction in the airport charades of removing shoes and patting down elderly people while stolen pps remain valid?

As others have said, just make a copy. Someone I know was stupid enough to leave her passport right in her purse, then leave her purse unattended at an internet cafe in London. Well, you know the rest (along with all her credit cards, camera, ipod, and pretty much EVERYTHING ELSE she needed...). She was also stupid enough to not make copies of ANYTHING. Needless to say, a friend came to her rescue at the US Embassy and basically lied to get her a replacement passport. You don't want to have to rely on something ridiculous (and beyond illegal) like that, just do what others have said and make a copy AND scan it to yourself (and even a relative stateside - I sent all my scans to my parents too).
One other thing I have done is - just in case - when I renewed my passport a couple months ago, for $20 extra I got one of the new Passport cards. They are only for land/boat travel to Canada and Mexico, but I figure if something were to happen it couldn't hurt to have that as one more evidence of my identity, and since I'll never need to use it on a trip, I can leave it safely in the money belt at ALL times. But like others have said, don't think of worst case scenarios. Plan for them, research how to avoid them, sure, but don't worry about them. :)