Michel Lotito

Template:Short description Template:Pp-pc Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Michel Lotito (Template:IPA; Template:DateTemplate:Spaced ndashTemplate:Date<ref name="matchid">Template:Cite web</ref>) was a French entertainer famous for deliberate consumption of indigestible objects. He came to be known as Monsieur Mangetout (Template:Literal translation). His digestive system allowed him to consume up to Template:Convert of metal per day. He started eating this unusual diet at age 16.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Verification needed

Career

Template:Self-contradictory Michel Lotito began eating unusual material at 16 years of age,<ref name="Curra2013" />Template:Verification needed and he performed publicly beginning in 1966, around the age of 16. He had an eating disorder known as pica, a psychological disorder characterised by an appetite for 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.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Lotito also had digestive juices that were unusually powerful, meaning that he could digest the unusual materials. Soft foods, such as bananas, gave him heartburn, specifically when he had metal in his stomach.<ref>"Michel Lotito" (video). ABC International. YouTube. 2018.</ref>Template:Clarify

Lotito's performance involved the consumption of metal, glass, rubber and other materials. He disassembled, cut up, and consumed items such as bicycles, shopping carts, televisions, beds and a Cessna 150,<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> among other items. It took him roughly 2 years, from Template:Date to Template:Date, to eat the Cessna 150.Template:EfnTemplate:Cn

Lotito claimed not to suffer ill effects from his consumption of substances typically considered poisonous. When performing, he ingested approximately Template:Convert of material daily, preceding it with mineral oil and drinking considerable quantities of water during the meal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is estimated that between 1959 and 1997, Lotito "had eaten nearly nine tons of metal."<ref name="telegraph">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Clarify

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 allowed him to swallow the metal without damaging his throat. Lotito did not have any digestive problems as a result of his unusual diet.<ref name=mayer>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=RIPLEYS2>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards

Lotito holds the record for the "strangest diet" in the Guinness Book of Records. He was awarded a plaque, made of brass, by the publishers to commemorate his abilities. He ate his award.<ref name="Curra2013">Template:Cite book</ref>

Death

Lotito died of natural causes at age 55 on Template:Date, in Grenoble.<ref name=matchid/><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

List of unusual items allegedly consumed

At least:<ref name="Curra2013" /><ref name="telegraph" />Template:Citation needed

• 45 door hinges
• 18 bicycles
• 15 shopping carts
• 7 television sets
• 6 chandeliers
• 2 beds
• 1 pair of skis
• 1 computer
• 1 copy of the textbook Gravitation by Misner, Thorne and Wheeler
• 1 Cessna 150 light aircraft
• 1 waterbed
• Template:Convert of steel chain
• 1 coffin (with handles)
• 1 Guinness World Records award plaque
• Assorted razors and bolts

In popular culture

• The Man Who Ate the 747 (2000) is the debut novel of Ben Sherwood. It follows a record keeper for The Book of Records who discovers a farmer attempting to romantically impress a woman by gradually eating a Boeing 747.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The novel was heavily inspired by The Guinness Book of World Records; Sherwood interviewed Lotito via telephone as part of his research.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
• How to Eat an Airplane (2016) is a picture book based on Lotito, written by Peter Pearson and illustrated by Mircea Catusanu.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

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