A discussion over on Facebook reminded me of another acquaintance of mine falling victim to a power tool accident (a different guy than the one in the my "Table saw accident" thread from late May).
A few weeks ago I was standing in line at my favorite local BBQ place (Texas Rib Kings in Austin) and I noticed the owner (a younger guy; probably mid-thirties) had a large cast-like bandage covering his right hand. I said "What did you do; hoot your poor wittle self?" He said, "Yeah, I cut off all my fingers in a Skil-saw accident!" and he holds up his hand (which was only partially covered by the "bandage") to reveal a ring finger that was missing near the larger knuckle, and the remaining three had clearly been reattached and looking considerably less happy than their former selves. I said "DAMN BUBBA! How the hell did you do that?! And why didn't you stop with the first one?!" He told me a hurried story (he was running the register) about cutting a piece of plywood with his left hand (he's right-handed) in some awkward situation while holding it "steady" with his right, and with his fingers underneath. Some kind of binding or kick-back ensued and the saw jumped right through the wood where his fingers were, and it was all over in an instant. I'm not sure why they couldn't attach the ring finger; the blade probably blew right through the knuckle. Ouch. I didn't bother telling him that the whole incident sounded like something a dumbass would do.
The next time I went in there for lunch I asked somebody else "where Ol' Nine Fingers was" (I can never remember his name). Now everybody calls him that...