28: Lost and Found pt.1: Out on a Limb

Grant Thomas
Nov 22, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Apr 16

This week Grant takes Maia on a wild ride that starts in the south and will wind its way to Germany and daytime television show before anything can be settled. If you have ever lost something and wondered where you must have left it, this story is just for you!

John Wood, Shannon Whisnant, Finders Keepers documentary, amputated leg

Imagine losing your leg in a plane crash—only to have it auctioned off and turned into a roadside attraction. Buckle up because this episode is a wild ride. Grant Thomas takes Maia Warner on a journey that starts in the South and winds its way through small-town drama, a media circus, daytime television, and even Germany before anything is settled. At the heart of it all? John Wood and Shannon Whisnant—two men locked in a bizarre legal and emotional battle over a mummified human leg. From storage unit surprises to the existential question of "Who really owns a severed limb?" this story is packed with absurdity, dark humor, and surprisingly deep reflections on grief, loss, and the lengths people will go for attention. Inspired by the Finders Keepers documentary, this one is not to be missed!

Chapters/Key Takeaways

[00:00:00] Catch-Up
[00:01:05] The Avant-Garde World of Cartoon Network: Grant and Maia revisit their weird, trippy childhood favorites
[00:09:30] Tournaments and the Art of Event Planning: The stress of running a speech and debate tournament and the iron-fist rule he imposes for survival
[00:24:42] Story Starts: The Ultimate Lost and Found: How one man lost his leg and another man tried to claim it
[00:43:59] Storage Unit Auction to Battle for Leg Ownership: Shannon Wisnat’s discovery of buying an abandoned storage unit with a human leg to having a legal battle with John Wood
[01:02:49] The Dark Side of the Story: The real trauma of John Wood behind all the absurdity of struggling with addiction and the loss of his father
[01:23:13] Redemption and Resolution: John Wood got sober through Judge Greg Mathis's show's intervention and Shannon Wisnat's Aftermath
[01:48:00] Final Thoughts

Quotes:

"You need to learn how to interact with someone. If someone in your own life has a lot of stuff going on and they're shorter with you than they normally are, they don't suddenly hate you. They just have a lot going on." – Grant Thomas
“Addiction is like a medical disease, much more than it is like maybe one individual choice.” - Grant Thomas
"Men will literally claim ownership of a mummified leg that is not theirs instead of go to therapy." - Maia Warner

Connect with Us

Love a good laugh? Stay in the loop with the Well, I Laughed Podcast! Hit up wellilaughed.com for all the fun, throw some love our way on Patreon at https://patreon.com/WellILaughedPodcast, and send us your wildest listener stories at wellilaughedpod@gmail.com—because let’s be real, we know you’ve got some!