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On a side note, the history of prosthetics is rather fascinating. Apart from the silver/copper noses of above, some ancient prosthetics could get pretty creative. The most stunning example was the “Iron Fist” of the German knight Gotz von Berlichingen (who formed the loose basis for a really gritty, awesome medieval fantasy anime), who lived a long life (he died at 82) of mercenary adventures and derring-do, generally being a nuisance to his neighbors, and being one of the most quotable men of his period (he invented the phrase “you can kiss my butt.” This was after having his right arm blown off when he was only 24. Too hardcore to let a little dismemberment get in the way of his quest for glory and booty, he had two iron hands commissioned with the expertise of a saddlemaker, a blacksmith, and a clockmaker. The end result was a fully articulated iron hand that could be flexed with the free hand and locked in place such that it could hold a sword. In fact, Gotz became rather famous for his “iron grip” – it’s rather hard to disarm a man whose hand is made of iron. Though he was rather more famous for being a pillock and a stubborn chucklenut who did whatever he wanted, picked fights with dukes, caroused with his fellow mercenary celebrities Georg von Frundsberg and Franz von Sickingen (who later testified for their homie in court), and was repeatedly outlawed by his emperor for sundry acts such as pillaging imperial trade caravans, kidnapping a count, leading a peasant rebellion (Peasant rebellion of 1525 – Luther’s era), and only finally absolved in order to serve the emperor against the Ottoman Empire.

I really like this dude. He’s kind of inspirational.