THROUGHOUT history, people have attempted some truly bizarre feats to earn a place in the record books.
From eating the most hot dogs to breaking boards with bare hands, record-breakers have pushed the limits of human capability.
Did a man once eat an airplane?
Verdict:
TRUE
Michel Lotito, also known as 'Monsieur Mangetout' (Mr Eat All), was a French performer who truly earned his nickname by eating an entire airplane.
Metal, rubber and glass were amongst the unusual items he consumed, earning him the record for the world's strangest diet.
Lotito is perhaps best known as the man who ate an entire airplane, however, he also enjoyed feasting on bicycles, razor blades and other seemingly inedible objects.
He prepared each item for consumption by cutting it up with an electric power saw to create bite-sized chunks.
Instead of chewing the pieces, he swallowed them like a pill, something that would prove fatal to most people.
To help wash it all down, Lotito drank mineral oil and large quantities of water, which acted as lubricant.
The airplane he consumed was a Cessna 150 light aircraft, which he ate between 1978 and 1980, taking approximately two years to complete the feat.
Lotito's unusual appetite was caused by pica – the eating or craving of things that are not food – which is considered to be a psychological disorder, rather than a biological one.
Medical examinations revealed that Lotito had an unusually thick stomach lining and intestines, which allowed him to consume materials that would be deadly to ordinary people.
During his career, Lotito consumed approximately nine tonnes of metal throughout his lifetime.
He passed away in 2006 in Grenoble, France, at the age of 57 from natural causes.
References:
2. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/25002-plane-eater-story-of-man-who-munched-cessna-150
