Michel Lotito wasn’t just a man with a strange appetite—he was a walking paradox of biology. Born in Grenoble, France in 1950, Lotito developed an almost mythical reputation for eating metal, glass, and rubber. But his most shocking feat? Consuming a whole Cessna 150 airplane, piece by piece, over the course of two years.
Lotito’s condition, known as pica, caused him to crave non-food items from a young age. While most people with pica might nibble on chalk or dirt, Lotito went much further. From razor blades to shopping carts, there was hardly anything he wouldn’t try to eat.
What made it possible? Doctors discovered that Lotito had an unusually thick stomach lining and a digestive system capable of breaking down sharp, dangerous objects. He would cut materials into smaller pieces, wash them down with mineral oil and water, and perform his bizarre meals in front of live audiences around the world.
His stage name, Monsieur Mangetout (French for "Mr. Eat-All"), became legendary in the 1970s and '80s. Among the items he consumed were 18 bicycles, 7 televisions, and countless metal utensils. But the airplane stunt—from 1978 to 1980—is what sealed his name in Guinness World Records.
Despite his metal diet, Lotito reported discomfort from eating soft foods like bananas or boiled eggs. That contrast only added to the mystery of his body’s strange abilities.
Lotito passed away in 2007 at age 57, not from his eating habits, but from natural causes. His legacy remains one of the most extreme and fascinating cases ever recorded in human history
Did you know? Lotito’s total lifetime consumption is estimated at over 9,000 kilograms of metal. That’s more than the weight of an average elephant—ingested slowly, one object at a time.
👉 For more about this incredible record-breaker, check out the full story of Michel Lotito, the metal eater on FactFun.
ref : fact fun