I’ve got a pop quiz for you this morning. Prosthetic limbs, artificial body parts, have been around for thousands of years. Would you like to guess what is the oldest prosthetic body part that has ever been found? Do you have a guess? It’s a big toe.

Years ago, archeologists in Cairo, Egypt were excavating the tomb of an ancient Egyptian noblewoman who lived about 3,000 years ago. And they discovered that her body was fitted with a tiny, prosthetic toe made of wood with a leather strap that connected it to her foot. Historians refer to it as the Cairo Toe. (1) By the way, if you’re ever a contestant on Jeopardy and that’s the game-winning question, I do expect you to share your prize money with me. Or at least buy me a cup of coffee.

One of the most recent inventors of prosthetic limbs i…