Man sees amputated leg as moneymaker

MAIDEN, N.C., Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A North Carolina man who claims he bought an amputated leg fair and square says he wants to use it to help his town.

Shannon Whisnant lives in Maiden, a small town near Charlotte. He apparently did not know what he was getting when he bought a barbecue smoker at an auction. The leg was inside.

Whisnant would like to put the leg on display. He told the Charlotte Observer that he would charge adults $10, seniors $5 and children $3. Amputees would get in for free.

"It'd be a great for tourism," he said. "Maiden could use some fresh money. We've got nothing but old money around here, and we could use a little extra cash flow."

John Wood of Greenville, S.C., has other ideas. He lost the leg in 2004 when it was amputated after a plane crash and again this year when the storage facility sold his smoker.

Wood, who got the leg back from police, says he does not see the leg as a moneymaker.

Whisnant says the pair should share it.

"I told him I'd share custody of it," Whisnant said. "Kind of like young'uns."