Thirty anaesthetists attempted to place a derived 'optimal' curve bougie or a straight bougie in the trachea of a manikin, in a randomised cross-over study. A Grade 3 Cormack and Lehane laryngoscopic view was simulated. The anaesthetists were blinded to success ( tracheal placement) or failure ( oesophageal placement). The success rates with the curved and straight bougies were 83 and 7%, respectively, giving a difference (95% confidence interval) of 77% (54-87%) between the two bougies ( p < 0.0001). On a separate occasion, under identical laboratory conditions, 30 anaesthetists attempted to place a straight coude ( angled)-tipped bougie or a straight straight-tipped bougie in the trachea of a manikin. The success rates with the coude- and straight-tipped bougies were 43 and 0%, respectively, giving a difference ( 95% confidence interval) of 43% (21-61%) between the two bougies ( p < 0.001). These results suggest that bougies used to facilitate difficult intubation should be curved and have a coude tip.