Real story behind the movie - 127 hour

For me this is the most extreme example of human willpower and discipline. 

On April 26th, 2003, a man called Aron Ralston set out on a canyon hike in a remote part of Utah—when a large rock became dislodged and fell on him.

His right hand was crushed and pinned against the canyon wall.

This is a real photo, by the way.

Before leaving on the hike, Aron told nobody of his plans.

He had no means of calling for rescue.

He was utterly alone.

Over the course of three days, he desperately tried to free his trapped arm . He attempted to wrench it out. He chipped at the boulder with his penknife. He tried rigging up a pulley system to lift the rock.

Nothing worked.

With virtually no food or water left and no hope of rescue, Aron was left with only one hope of survival: to saw his arm off with a blunt penknife.

At this point, many people would have given up.

And Aron nearly did.

He recorded a goodbye video for his family, and carved his name, date of birth and supposed date of death into the stone.

But it was not to be.

Five days after being trapped, he finally amputated his right arm over the course of an hour with the tiny, dull blade of his knife. He tied the stump with a makeshift tourniquet.

One-armed and dying of dehydration and blood loss, he roped himself down and out of the canyon, where he found rescue.

After losing his arm, Aron continues to climb and hike to this day.

His experience was later made into a hit film—127 Hours.

It amazes me how a human could have the sheer willpower and determination to physically, excruciatingly saw their own arm off  with nothing more than a blunt penknife.