How Man's Marriage Saves Him From Potentially Terrifying DIY Injury

A wedding ring has proven to be a lifesaver for a 38-year-old man in the state of Georgia.

Brandon narrowly escaped potentially serious injury while working in his workshop,.

"I was moving things around my workshop and pinched it slightly between two pieces of metal," Brandon, an IT professional, told Newsweek. "I try to DIY as much as possible."

When the metal caught the ring, it snapped quickly, saving his finger from a potential injury. "I'd rather the ring have cracked and taken the impact than my finger. If it wasn't there, I guess I would have had a larger injury but nothing catastrophic," he said.

The ring was made from tungsten, a material known for its durability and strength.

A popular choice for their strength, durability, and affordability, tungsten rings are around 10 times harder than 18-karat gold rings. They are also hypoallergenic and scratch-resistant.

However, a tungsten ring can't be resized, and can crack or shatter under extreme force, rather than bending like softer metals.

Brandon shared the outcome with Reddit on the r/mildlyinfurating subreddit, where he posted a picture of the ring, now in two halves.

With more than 27,000 upvotes, people were stunned about the stroke of luck that helped him avoid a potentially serious injury.

"Not many people can claim their marriage saved their fingers," said one commenter.

While another Reddit user wrote: "You should know better than to wear jewelry while doing that kind of work. You're lucky that it fractured instead of bending and pinching your finger."

Rings in workshops can get caught in machinery, tools or other objects, leading to injury including crushed or severed fingers. While metal rings can also pose an electrical hazard when working with power tools.

Safety recommendations advise removing all jewelry while working in a workshop, and some people opt for soft silicone rings when they spend a lot of time in workshop environments.

Brandon remained pragmatic about the accident. "I will probably replace it with a silicone ring to wear most of the time, especially when doing martial arts or heavy-duty work," he said. "And I might make myself another one someday."

He also plans to keep the ring pieces. "I'll probably keep the ring pieces and make a piece of jewelry for my wife or something," he added. "I'm disappointed it broke, but, as my wife said, 'it's just a ring.'"

Earlier this week, another man gained viral attention for a hand-related story. Ritter lost his right hand after a snowboarding accident, but decided to keep his hand and make it into a Christmas decoration.

Correction 04/12/24, 10:35 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct Brandon's age.