The Man Who Ate an Entire Airplane

Over the course of his life, he consumed bicycles, shopping carts, television sets, a coffin, and, most famously, a Cessna 150 light aircraft. He ate the plane over a two-year period between 1978 and 1980, cutting it into small pieces and grinding them down before swallowing.

Lotito, born in Grenoble in 1950, discovered his unusual ability as a teenager when he accidentally swallowed a piece of a drinking glass. He found that he suffered no ill effects. Curious, he began experimenting with other indigestible materials—metal, rubber, glass—and eventually turned the talent into a stage act, performing under the name "Monsieur Mangetout," or "Mr. Eat Everything."

Doctors who examined Lotito found that his stomach lining was roughly twice the normal thickness, which may have protected him from cuts and tears. His digestive system also appeared to produce unusually powerful gastric acids. Before consuming an object, he would break it into small fragments, lubricate the pieces with mineral oil, and wash them down with large quantities of water. He reportedly ate about 900 grams of metal per day during his performances. The process was slow and methodical, closer to a routine than a spectacle.

His documented consumption is remarkable in scope. In addition to the Cessna—which weighed about 1,100 pounds and included the engine, fuselage, and landing gear—Lotito ate 18 bicycles, 15 shopping carts, 7 television sets, 6 chandeliers, 2 beds, a pair of skis, a computer, and a waterbed. He also ate a coffin, handles and all. Guinness World Records listed him as having the most unusual diet in history.

The one thing that made him sick was soft food. Bananas and hard-boiled eggs gave him indigestion, he claimed, while razor blades and bolts went down fine. Whether this was genuinely physiological or partly showmanship remains unclear.

Lotito died in 2007 at the age of 57 from natural causes unrelated to his diet. His stomach, by all accounts, was in perfectly normal condition.