Science journalist Miles O'Brien was on assignment in the Philippines in February when a case of heavy equipment landed on his left arm. The resulting injury required that his limb be amputated above the elbow. Now, some four months on, O'Brien writes about adjusting to the "mono-mano" lifestyle.

If your arm falls asleep for a while, it can sort of feel like it's made of rubber. But how do you make your arm feel like it's made of marble? According to Italian researchers, all you need is the sound of a hammer tapping stone. And some psychological trickery.

It looks beautiful and elegant — until you imagine someone performing an actual amputation using these tools. Probably with not terribly great anesthetic or antibiotics. What do you think the curved one is for?

A woman was born with what's known as a phocomelic hand, meaning she was missing a finger and thumb on one of her hands. But when that hand was amputated after a car accident, she developed a five-fingered phantom hand.

It took mountain climber Aron Ralston (and his onscreen counterpart, James Franco) 127 hours to amputate his own limb. It takes mere seconds for this crab to pull off its own claw after an unsuccessful attack on a blue-footed booby chick.

Let's get something straight—amputation is an awful, tragic thing. That being said, these personally customized prosthetic limbs are wonderful in that they make people mobile again—and look like German sports cars. Great industrial design for a great cause.