Michel Lotito

Michel Lotito (French pronunciation: ​[miʃɛl lɔtito]; June 15, 1950 – June 25, 2007[1]) was a French entertainer, born in Grenoble, famous for deliberately consuming indigestible objects. He came to be known as Monsieur Mangetout ("Mr. Eat-All").[2]

Michel Lotito
Lotito eating parts of a Cessna 150 aircraft
Born(1950-06-15)June 15, 1950
Grenoble, France
DiedJune 25, 2007(2007-06-25) (aged 57)
Grenoble, France
Resting placeSaint Roch Cemetery, Grenoble
NationalityFrench
Other namesMonsieur Mangetout
OccupationEntertainer
Known forEating unusual objects
A Cessna 150, one of the more famous items Lotito ate over his lifetime.

Entertainment

Michel Lotito began eating unusual material as a teenager, at around 16 years of age,[3] and he performed publicly beginning in 1966. He had an eating disorder known as pica, which is a psychological disorder characterized by an appetite of substances that are largely non-nutritive. Doctors determined that Lotito also had a thick lining in his stomach and intestines which allowed his consumption of sharp metal without suffering injury.[4] Lotito also had digestive juices that were unusually powerful, meaning that he could digest the unusual materials. However, it also meant that soft foods, such as bananas and hard-boiled eggs, made him sick.

Lotito's performances involved the consumption of metal, glass, rubber and other materials. He disassembled, cut up, and consumed items such as bicycles, shopping carts, televisions, and a Cessna 150,[5] among other items. The Cessna 150 took roughly two years to be "eaten", from 1978 to 1980.

Lotito claimed not to suffer ill effects from his consumption of substances typically considered poisonous. When performing, he ingested approximately 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of material daily, preceding it with mineral oil and drinking considerable quantities of water during the meal.[6] It is estimated that between 1959 and 1997, Lotito "had eaten nearly nine tons of metal."[7]

Lotito's method for eating all of this metal was to break it into small pieces before attempting to eat it. He then drank mineral oil and continued to drink water while swallowing the metal bits. This acted as a lubricant to help the metal slide down his throat. Lotito had no problem "passing" his unusual diet.[8][9]

Awards

Lotito holds the record for the 'strangest diet' in the Guinness Book of Records. He was awarded a brass plaque by the publishers to commemorate his abilities which he consumed as well.[3]

Death

Lotito died of natural causes on June 25, 2007, ten days after his 57th birthday.[10] He is buried at Saint Roch Cemetery in Grenoble, his hometown.

List of unusual items consumed
Item[7]
Bicycles
Shopping cart
Chandeliers
Bed
Skis (pair)
Computer
Cessna aircraft
Waterbed
Coffin (with handles)
Brass plaque

References
  1. "Strangest diet". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
  2. "Man eats 15 pounds of bicycle". The Leader-Post. September 7, 1978.
  3. John Curra (16 April 2013). The Relativity of Deviance. SAGE Publications. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-4833-2120-2.
  4. Lorenzo, Tom (October 1, 2012). "Michel Lotito: The Man Who Ate An Airplane And Everything Else". CBS. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  5. Barron, James; Nagourney, Adam (August 30, 2000). "Not Half Bad With Ketchup". The New York Times.
  6. Tiede, Tom (February 4, 1980). "Prodigies bag big bucks by going pro". The Madison Courier.
  7. "Weird world records: bizarre entries in the Guinness Book of World Records". The Telegraph. September 17, 2008.
  8. Doug Mayer; Val Stori & Tod von Jahnes (2011-08-02). You Don't Know Sh*t. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-312-64990-6.
  9. Miles Kelly Publishing (2006). Ripley's Believe it or Not: Arts & Entertainment. Ripley Entertainment, Inc. ISBN 978-1893951150.
  10. "Michel Lotito - The man who ate an airplane and everything else". Gabdig. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
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