We never really know what we'll be capable of until we're in a desperate situation that seems to call for the impossible.
After all, the kind of adrenaline our bodies produce when we're in perilous situations is hard to predict but can nonetheless prove extremely powerful. As the BBC reported, it's given ordinary people the sudden superhuman strength they needed to lift cars off of loved ones or fight off polar bears on their own.
And when one mom faced a nightmarish situation at a Lake Michigan pier, it helped her avert the most terrible of tragedies.