51 Years Later, Turn Signal Lever Removed From Guy's Arm

It lodged there during car accident
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 1, 2015 11:31 AM CST
51 Years Later, Turn Signal Lever Removed From Guy's Arm
Arthur Lampitt of Granite City shows off the 1963 Thunderbird turn signal that was embedded in his arm for 51 years after having surgery to remove it on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014.   (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jesse Bogan)

Fifty-one years ago, Arthur Lampitt of Granite City, Illinois, smashed his 1963 Thunderbird into a truck. This week during surgery in suburban St. Louis, a 7-inch turn signal lever from that T-Bird was removed from his left arm. Dr. Timothy Lang removed the lever yesterday during a 45-minute operation. Lampitt, now 75, is recovering at home. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the accident broke Lampitt's hip, drawing attention away from the arm, which healed. A decade or so ago, his arm set off a courthouse metal detector. An X-ray showed a pencil-sized object, but since it caused no pain or hardship, Lampitt let it be. He was moving concrete blocks a few weeks ago when the arm began to hurt for the first time, prompting surgery. (More strange stuff stories.)

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