Michel Lotito
| Michel Lotito | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Mikael June 15, 1950 Grenoble, France |
| Died |
June 25, 2007 (aged 57) Grenoble |
| Resting place | Saint Roch Cemetery, Grenoble |
| Nationality | French |
| Other names | Monsieur Mangetout |
| Occupation | Entertainer |
| Known for | Eating unusual objects |
Michel Lotito (June 15, 1950 – June 25, 2007) was a French entertainer, born in Grenoble, famous for deliberately consuming indigestible objects. He came to be known as Monsieur Mangetout ("Mr Eat-All").[1]
His performances involved the consumption of metal, glass, rubber and other materials. He disassembled, cut up, and consumed bicycles, shopping carts, televisions, a Cessna 150,[2] and other items. The Cessna 150 took roughly two years to be "eaten", from 1978 to 1980. He began eating unusual material as a teenager, at around 16 years of age,[3] and performed publicly beginning in 1966. Lotito had an eating disorder known as pica. 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 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.[5] He said, however, that bananas and hard-boiled eggs made him sick. It is estimated that between 1959 and 1997, Lotito "had eaten nearly nine tons of metal."[6]
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. He also had no problem "passing" his unusual diet.[7][8]
He was awarded a brass plaque by the Guinness Book to commemorate his abilities. He consumed it as well.[3]
Lotito died on June 25, 2007, ten days after his 57th birthday, due to natural causes.[9] He is buried at Saint Roch Cemetery in Grenoble.
List of unusual items consumed
| Item[6] | Count |
|---|---|
| Bicycles | 18 |
| Shopping cart | 15 |
| Television | 7 |
| Chandelier | 6 |
| Bed | 2 |
| Skis (pair) | 1 |
| Cessna aircraft | 1[4] |
| Waterbed | 1[10] |
| Coffin | 1 |
References
- ↑ "Man eats 15 pounds of bicycle". The Leader-Post. September 7, 1978.
- ↑ Barron, James; Nagourney, Adam (August 30, 2000). "Not Half Bad With Ketchup". The New York Times.
- 1 2 John Curra (16 April 2013). The Relativity of Deviance. SAGE Publications. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-4833-2120-2.
- 1 2 Lorenzo, Tom (October 1, 2012). "Michel Lotito: The Man Who Ate An Airplane And Everything Else". CBS. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- ↑ Tiede, Tom (February 4, 1980). "Prodigies bag big bucks by going pro". The Madison Courier.
- 1 2 "Weird world records: bizarre entries in the Guinness Book of World Records". The Telegraph. September 17, 2008.
- ↑ Doug Mayer; Val Stori & Tod von Jahnes. You Don't Know Sh*t. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-312-64990-6.
- ↑ Miles Kelly Publishing. Ripley's Believe it or Not: Arts & Entertainment. Ripley Entertainment, Inc. ISBN 1893951154.
- ↑ "Michel Lotito - The man who ate an airplane and everything else". Gabdig. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
- ↑ Tom Tiede (7 February 1980). "Unusual acts gain popularity". Greenwood, South Carolina: The Index-Journal. p. 5. Retrieved 8 May 2017 – via newspapers.com.