SWIMMING IS GOOD EXERCISE - EXCEPT WHEN YOU LOSE LIMBS

by Kyle Smith, Doberman On The Diamond

Swimming can be extremely beneficial - you get a good cardio workout, and every muscle in your body is worked. So it was that a gentleman named Bill Hedden was snorkeling in a South Carolina lake.

He was undoubtedly enjoying his time in the water and at peace with nature - until nature bit him in the ass. Actually, make that the arm.

As Hedden was swimming, an 11 foot, 550 lb. alligator rose up and chomped his arm completely off. Thank goodness somebody had a camera and decided to take a picture of the gator swimming with the arm in it's mouth (WARNING: it's not a picture for the faint of heart).

What happened next? We'll let The Telegraph take it from here:

"Nearby picnickers were shocked when Mr Hedden stumbled into their midst, grasping his left shoulder where his arm should have been, gushing blood and screaming: 'Call my wife, call my wife!'"

Hedden was airlifted to a hospital, and he survived the attack, but he'll have to live the rest of his life sans one limb.

Still, he can take solace in this: The AP reports he's been offered the gator's mounted head:

"The head of an alligator that bit off a man's arm will be mounted and offered to the victim, a state contractor who caught the reptile said Wednesday.

'He's expressed interest in it through another officer,' said Ron Russell, who killed the alligator and cut into the animal Sunday to retrieve the man's arm. 'I'll probably give it to him.'"

At least he'll have a nice icebreaker for his next dinner party.