Michel Lotito

Michel Lotito (; ) was a French entertainer famous for deliberate consumption of indigestible objects. He came to be known as Monsieur Mangetout (). His digestive system was incredibly resilient, allowing him to consume up to of metal per day. He started eating this unusual diet at age 16.

Career

Michel Lotito began eating unusual material at 16 years of age, 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. 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.

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, among other items. It took him roughly 2 years, from to , to eat the Cessna 150.

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

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.

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.

Death

Lotito died of natural causes at age 57 on , in Grenoble.

List of unusual items consumed

At least:

*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
* 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 woo a woman by gradually eating a Boeing 747. The novel was heavily inspired by ''The Guinness Book of World Records''; Sherwood interviewed Lotito via telephone as part of his research.
*''How to Eat an Airplane'' (2016) is a picture book based on Lotito, written by Peter Pearson and illustrated by Mircea Catusanu.

See also

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Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotito, Michel
1950 births
2007 deaths
French performance artists
People from Grenoble
Pica (disorder)
Ripley's Believe It or Not!