
During the American civil war, 75% of all battlefield surgery involved amputations.
A total of more than 50,000 such amputations were performed.
A man with no arms and no legs swam the English Channel in September 2010 thanks to his motor-propelled, flipper-shaped artificial legs.
Philippe Croizon, 42, lost all his limbs in an accident in 1994 when he was hit by a 20,000 volt charge from a power line while removing a television aerial.
The Channel crossing took him 13 and a half hours. He said he had done it to inspire all those "who think life is nothing but suffering."
CRICKET
Frederick Louis, eldest son of George II, is the only Prince of Wales to have... MORE
LATVIA
The currency unit in Latvia is the lat. The 500-lat note, worth about £550, is... MORE
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
Napoleon's surgeon, Baron Dominique Larrey, could reputedly amputate a man's leg in 14 seconds. ... MORE
PORTER
After his first show was a Broadway flop, Cole Porter joined the French Foreign Legion... MORE
SANTA ANNA
President Santa Anna of Mexico led the siege of the Alamo in 1836. His leg... MORE
WIMBLEDON
An average four-set match in the men's singles at Wimbledon lasts two-and-a-half hours, of which... MORE
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