Michel Lotito (1950-2007), also known as "Monsieur Mangetout", was a man of French origin who became internationally famous for his strange and unique ability: he was able to eat all kinds of objects (hence his name, which In his mother tongue it means "the lord eat everything").
The Guinness Book of Records hides a multitude of stories as strange as they are fascinating. In their quest to achieve fame and accomplish what no one has ever done before, some people contrive and perform some truly baffling actions.
In this book Lolito is remembered as the only person in history to eat a whole coffin; but this was not his only memorable feat. Nor, in fact, the most peculiar.
Between 1959 and 1997, it is estimated that Michel Lotito consumed approximately nine tons of metal. In addition, he ingested a multitude of materials considered toxic, without this apparently causing him any health problem. In fact, he died of natural causes in 2007, at the age of 57.
The story of Michel Lotito and his exploits is one of the most peculiar of those remembered in recent decades. Today we will tell you all about this peculiar artist and the way in which he gained fame eating objects of all kinds.
Biography
Michel Lotito, also known by the nickname "Monsieur Mangetout", was an artist born on June 15, 1950 in Grenoble, France. His main ability was to be able to consume large amounts of metal and other similar substances without getting sick. According to him, at the peak of his career, he was able to consume 1 kilo of inedible materials a day without problems.
But where did this strange talent come from? Was it something trained, or was Lotito born with it? As it was later discovered, once he had risen to fame, Monsieur Mangetout suffered from an eating disorder known as "pica." Those who have it have strange manias, which lead them to ingest non-nutritive substances.
It is not really known why the pica arises. Researchers believe that the desire to eat substances such as rocks or metals may have to do with a significant lack of nutrients in the body. In any case, Michel Lotito knew how to see the good side of his situation, and decided to turn his illness into his main talent.
Thus, he began to ingest metal and other similar substances in 1966, and a few months later he had already begun to show his talent publicly under his stage name. Throughout his career, the man ate the following objects, according to the Guinness Book of Records:
- 18 bicycles.
- 15 supermarket carts.
- 7 televisions.
- 6 chandeliers.
- Two beds.
- 1 pair of skis.
- 1 Cessna 150 aircraft.
- 1 computer.
Despite how implausible this list may be, there is documentation that proves that Monsieur Mangetout actually managed to ingest all the objects included in it without becoming ill. But how was it possible that he did it?
Michel Lotito's secret method
The truth, while still impressive, is not as shocking as someone who was not familiar with Monsieur Mangetout's techniques might think.
Rather than trying to eat the objects he ate in one sitting, he first broke them into tiny pieces, which he then ate mixed with his normal foods. After all, who can eat a plane in one sitting?
Model Cessna 150, the plane that Michel Lotito ate. Source: Arpingstone
Thus, the technique followed by Michel Lotito for most of his life was as follows: first he decomposed the object of his choice into tiny pieces, mixed them with his normal food, and then ingested large quantities of water and oil to prevent them from sharp pieces damage your throat or digestive system.
Still, Lotito's feat remains virtually impossible to replicate. The doctors who studied him found that his gastric juices were much more powerful than normal; and the walls of his stomach were also thicker than usual, such that sharp objects that would have hurt other people did not cause him any problems.
Curiously, this ability to ingest dangerous and non-nutritious objects had a negative counterpart: Michel Lotito experienced severe discomfort if he ate too soft foods, such as bananas or eggs.
In addition, because his unusual problem ended up becoming his career, the French artist never managed to solve the pike, so throughout his life he continued to feel the need to ingest non-nutritive objects.
Although at the time of his death no direct relationship was found between his curious habits and his death, it cannot be ruled out that his way of eating had a strong influence on it.
Some of the exploits of Monsieur Mangetout
Michel Lotito's career was undoubtedly one of the most curious that has occurred throughout history. When he decided to ingest a new large object, he gave it public notice; and then he could spend a long time ingesting it piece by piece, broken down into very small pieces.
For example, when he set out to eat a Cessna 150 (a small aircraft), it took him more than two years to ingest all the small parts into which he had divided it. Something similar happened when he ate an entire coffin, including all the nails, the wood and the handles, which earned him a mention in the Guinness Book of Records.
In fact, the organizers of this well-known book of records decided to give him a commemorative brass plaque, in recognition of his strange food life. Lotito, taking it as a personal challenge, also decided to eat the plate.
Death
Michel Lotito passed away on June 25, 2007, almost a decade after retiring from public life and the last of his exploits ingesting foreign objects.
As we have already mentioned, the doctors who studied his body did not find any relationship between his peculiar eating habits and his death. At the time he lost his life, he was only 57 years old.
References
- "Meet Michel Lotito, the" Lord Cometodo "" in: Azteca América. Retrieved on: September 24, 2019 from Azteca América: aztecaamerica.com.
- "These are all the things that the man who ate 900 g of metal a day swallowed" in: Gizmodo. Retrieved on: September 24, 2019 from Gizmodo: es.gizmodo.com.
- "The man who ate an airplane piece by piece" in: Ripleys. Retrieved on: September 24, 2019 from Ripleys: ripleys.com.
- "Strangest diet" in: Guinness World Records. Retrieved on: September 24, 2019 from Guinness World Records: guinnessworldrecords.com.
- "Michel Lotito" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: September 24, 2019 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.