back to article Chinese man blows off hands, builds new pair

Plucky Chinese gent Sun Jifa showed the world exactly what persistence, and a rudimentary knowledge of welding and prosthetics, can do when it emerged this week that he built his own bionic hands after accidentally blowing the originals off. The 51-year-old from Guanmashan, in the northern province of Jilin blew off his hands …

COMMENTS

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  1. Michael Hoffmann Silver badge
    Joke

    Now I really want to know...

    ... what's Mandarin for "'tis only a flesh-wound" and "We've got the technology"?

    1. Arctic fox
      Joke

      Re: "Now I really want to know..." .........who his favourite singer is...........

      Answer: Max Bygraves.

      1. Dodgy Geezer Silver badge
        Thumb Up

        Re: "Now I really want to know..." .........who his favourite singer is...........

        God, that dates you!!!!

    2. Gordon Stewart
      Headmaster

      Re: Now I really want to know...

      Maybe something like 只 皮肤 伤口 (zhǐ pífū shāngkǒu)

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    "... how he managed the task of making the false limbs without any hands."

    Mmmm, I'd say he had a foot in it somewhere....

    1. Medium Dave
      Coat

      Re: A foot in it somewhere....

      Sounds like a cleverdick to me.

      1. Aaron Em
        Thumb Up

        Re: A foot in it somewhere....

        Shame I can only upvote once. Well done, sir!

    2. GitMeMyShootinIrons

      Re: "... how he managed the task of making the false limbs without any hands."

      Perhaps he's good at oral work...

      1. Jedit Silver badge
        Terminator

        "Perhaps he's good at oral work..."

        Apologies for injecting serious comment into this part of the discussion, but one of Britain's paralympic archers has no arms and shoots with his feet. I've also seen a video of another disabled archer performing bow maintenance with his teeth. People can be very ingenious when they have to be.

  3. Ryan 7
    WTF?

    Hang on, hang on...

    China doesn't have free healthcare?

    1. LaeMing

      Re: Hang on, hang on...

      Nope. Though to be fair, the most basic end of health-care is heavily subsidised, but not free.

      I guess that makes the US anti-health-care lobby commie sympathisers.

      1. Aaron Em

        Re: Hang on, hang on...

        ...he said, as though China were communist in more than name. "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" -- look it up -- is another way of saying "to hell with this commie nonsense, we're going to take over the world."

        1. Long Fei
          Go

          Re: Hang on, hang on...

          As someone who's lived in China for more than ten years, I can tell you that China is the most capitalist country I've ever seen, and that includes the US. Seriously, the States have nothing on this place.

      2. Dodgy Geezer Silver badge
        Meh

        Re: Hang on, hang on...

        Which is, if you think about it, the way we do it. Prescription charges and all...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hang on, hang on...

      It has something of the kind from what I remember, but NOT like we do, I don't know any country with our level of healthcare..

      BUT I think we, on the NHS, should fund the top prosthesis for everyone, what is 30-40k for a new arm?

      NOTHING! over the life of a person, 30K is nowt compared to the benefits they will need if they can't work in a job because they are missing an arm...

      We need the NHS and benefits agencies to work together so people out of work due to amputations get robotic limbs!

  4. Mike Echo
    WTF?

    "love normally"?

    “I control them with movements from my elbows and I can work, love normally and feed myself just like anyone else," he explained.

    Am I the only one wondering what this involves? Pics please!

    1. LaeMing
      Go

      Re: "love normally"?

      Wasn't there a Bond villain with attachments for that?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "Wasn't there a Bond villain with attachments for that?"

        Perhaps you are thinking of the cyborg from Innerspace.

        1. LaeMing
          Happy

          Re: "Wasn't there a Bond villain with attachments for that?"

          Ah yes. That's the one.

          Ah yes, ah yes...... yessss.

        2. Captain DaFt

          Re: "Wasn't there a Bond villain with attachments for that?"

          "Perhaps you are thinking of the cyborg from Innerspace."

          Or the one from Ice Pirates. (But his did need a tune-up.)

          1. Quinch
            Unhappy

            Re: "Wasn't there a Bond villain with attachments for that?"

            No Space Truckers?

            For shame.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: "Wasn't there a Bond villain with attachments for that?"

            Now you are showing your age :)

      2. Thorne

        Re: "love normally"?

        "Wasn't there a Bond villain with attachments for that?"

        No It was Austin Powers

      3. EddieD

        Re: "love normally"?

        I first saw the evil villain with dildo prosthesis in "A Fistfull of Yen" in Kentucky Fried Movie

      4. Jedit Silver badge
        Alien

        "Wasn't there a Bond villain with attachments for that?"

        in "Flesh Gordon Meets The Cosmic Cheerleaders", the evil Emperor Wang most specifically had an attachment for that. It wasn't very normal, though.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "love normally"?

      No pics for the 'love normally' bit, please!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "love normally"?

        I think it's a typo. "live normally" seems more appropriate.

  5. Medium Dave
    WTF?

    Lemme get this straight.

    He blows off his own hands while fishing, then makes new ones (presumably with with his feet)?

    I can't decide is this should be filed under 'Epic Fail' or 'Epic Win'... :s

    Actually, given the "love normally" comment, I think I'll just file it under 'Epic WTF'.

    1. The last doughnut
      Meh

      Re: Lemme get this straight.

      Given that he was preparing to go dynamite fishing, you can file it under "serves him right".

      Having said that, I am in the fortunate position of not having to do anything so dangerous to feed myself or my family.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Lemme get this straight.

        Fishing with explosives, fine, its a technique that works.. .but being so inept you blow your hands off... thats a fail

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Love normally....

    ...with a bionic hand? Mrs. Jifa will be pleased.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Love normally....

      "...with a bionic hand?"

      He also has attachments...

  7. Jones

    all you need is love

    “I control them with movements from my elbows and I can work, love normally and feed myself just like anyone else," he explained.

    i know you guys don't like to publish comments about typos, however the bionic hand guy who can "love normally" is really funny and needs to be pointed out. Assuming you meant to type "Live"...

  8. MrT

    Six million yuan man...

    ... We can rebuild him. We have the power, we have the capability, we DON’T have the ideal exchange rate...

    Apologies to Sanjeev Bhaskar... ;-)

    1. John 62
      Terminator

      Re: Six million yuan man...

      We can rebuild him, Purvis's got tools...

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef201LbbAPE

  9. jungle_jim
    Joke

    Tai Yong Medical

    So this is where it begins!

  10. wowfood

    And right now America are cursing because china managed to create this bionic limb before them. Or at least before somebody who isn't a PHD made one.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I think the UK is winning in the Bionics race... at least its a UK company that has the best bionic limbs out there, last time I looked anyway.... I'm eager to see someone build a wireless nervous system interface so the limbs can be controlled and send feedback like a real limb...

      1. dssf

        wait for bionic teeth...

        Talk about blueteeth will abound in leaps and bounds.

        --

        Reminds me of Edward Scissorhands and Tokyo Gore Cops..... And retro-borgs resorting to a scrap heap since the vinculum and omega particles timed out.

        Which also reminds me of when Neelix asked Seven a question:

        Neelix: Seven... Are there any Kazon among the Borg?

        Seven: The KAZON were unWORTHY of Assimilation....

  11. Steven 1
    Trollface

    Apple

    <Insert generic Apple patent gag here>

    ;)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apple

      Better hope that it dosn't look like a rectangle curved. We all know before Apple there was no such thing!

      Did you know Apple also invented egg on face?

  12. Craig 28

    Re:Love normally

    Okay so I'll be damned if I'll shake his hand now... I'm also a little concerned about the possibilities of rust or the mechanism just generally getting gunked up. Oh and don't go round for a meal if he's been serving the food, preparing the food or washed the pots before.

    As for China, I doubt even if they did ever introduce free healthcare that the current thinking over there would permit such an expensive operation for someone of such little political worth to the state. Sad but probably true.

  13. Nuke

    "I can work, **love normally** and feed myself just like anyone else ..."

    That brought me up short. How do guys in northern China provinces normally love then? I think his wife/GF would be the best judge of that claim. Oh wait, I forgot, they are rather short of women in those regions I've heard.

    1. JDX Gold badge

      I'm sure if you weren't a lonely IT virgin it would be clear.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yes they are, since us foreigners keep stealing the good ones.....

      There was one story out in china where a family chained their child up when they were working as they were scared they would be kidnapped!

  14. Keith 72
    FAIL

    Hoax?

    This can't be real. They're hardly rudimentary - he seems to have control of all his fingers. From his elbow?! Get outta here. Having looked at the photos I'd guess that his right arm has been lost but his left it fine...

  15. ukgnome
    Coat

    love normally!!!!

    Nothing says love more than the caressing of a thigh with a 10 lump of articulated steel.

  16. Peter Johnstone
    Thumb Up

    Kudos

    Kudos to the bloke I say, it's exactly that kind of resourcefulness and ingenuity that the people of China have been famous for throughout their history.

    I just hope that some big company doesn't come along and decide that he's infringed their patents.

    1. mhenriday
      Thumb Up

      Re: Kudos

      Agreed. Sounds like true grit and a great deal of ingenuity to me....

      Henri

  17. Danny 14

    what are the rules for para-olympic boxing? I imagine a pair of steel arms will give him some advantage.

  18. Nuke
    Facepalm

    Darwin Award Missed

    “I can work, **love** normally and feed myself ......." he explained.

    So he misses a Darwin award.

  19. Dodgy Geezer Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    PICTURES!!!

    ...or it didn't happen......

    (Paris for the 'love normally' angle...)

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hmmmm

    Jax in Mortal Kombat has bionic steel arms.

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