Trail Off Tuesdays: The Bizarre Life of Monsieur Mangetout

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You might think you've heard every strange human feat possible, but the story of Michel Lotito will make you question everything you thought you knew about the human body's limitations. This isn't just about a man with an unusual appetite – it's about someone whose physiological makeup defied medical understanding.

Born in 1950s France, Michel discovered his peculiar ability to consume glass as a child. What started as a curious habit evolved into something extraordinary when doctors discovered his stomach lining was twice as thick as normal and his digestive acids potent enough to break down materials that would destroy an ordinary person's system. Far from being deterred by his condition, Michel embraced it, transforming his extreme case of pica into a career that would earn him worldwide recognition.

The centerpiece of Michel's legacy remains his consumption of an entire Cessna 150 airplane between 1978 and 1980. Methodically eating approximately two pounds of metal daily, he completed what remains one of the most outlandish records in history. Throughout his lifetime, he consumed everything from bicycles and televisions to chandeliers and shopping carts – yet bizarrely couldn't stomach bananas or hard-boiled eggs. As "Monsieur Mangetout" (Mr. Eat-All), he performed across three continents, astonishing audiences with his metal-munching abilities before passing away in 2007 from causes entirely unrelated to his metallic diet.

Next time you're facing something that seems impossible to digest – whether a difficult situation or challenging news – remember Michel Lotito, who turned what should have been a debilitating condition into his superpower. Follow Trail of Tuesdays for more mind-bending true stories that remind us just how strange and wonderful our world can be.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Welcome to Trail of Tuesdays, your weekly bite of
the bizarre, the unbelievableand the strangely true.
Today's story belongs in theBelieve it or Not files.
It's not about a daredevilpilot or a spectacular crash

(00:34):
landing.
No, this is about a man who atea literal airplane.
You heard that right, bit bybit, bolts and all ate a literal
airplane.
You heard that right, bed bybed, bolts and all.
And no, he wasn't in danger, hewasn't even forced, he just

(00:59):
wanted to.
So pull up a chair, maybe skipthe snacks.
And let's meet the man who putmetal on the menu.
Michel Lotito was born inGrenoble, france, in the 1950s.

(01:21):
At first glance he seemed likeany other French kid.
He liked playing outside,riding his bike and bothering
his siblings.
But there was one smalldifference Michel had a taste
for the indigestible At first.

(01:42):
It started small.
Reports say he began chewing onglass as a child.
But by the time he was in hisearly teens he was eating it,
and not just glass.
He ate metal, rubber, plastic,even gravel.

(02:03):
When most people couldn't evenhandle swallowing a coin, michel
was out there crunching throughchandeliers.
Of course, doctors were baffledand what they discovered was
that Michel had a rare eatingdisorder called pica, which

(02:31):
causes individuals to cravenon-food objects.
Pica can lead people to consumeeverything from dirt to chalk,
but Michelle took it far beyondtextbook examples.
A team of doctors eventuallydiscovered that Michel's
internal makeup was differentHis esophagus and stomach lining

(02:53):
were nearly twice the normalthickness, and his stomach acids
were so potent they could breakdown materials that would have
shred another persons' insides,where you and I have a digestive
system.
Michelle had a demolition crew,and once he discovered this

(03:15):
unique superpower, well, micheldidn't run from it.
He actually embraced it andturned it into a lifestyle.
By the late 1970s, michel Lotitohad eaten his way through
bicycles, razor blades andshopping carts, but none of it

(03:36):
had made quite the impact hewanted.
He needed something bigger,more absurd, something that
would make the world to stop andstare.
So in 1978, michel made adecision that defies logic he
would eat an entire airplane,not a toy one, not even a model

(04:00):
one, a full-size, functionalCessna 150, a lightweight,
two-seater aircraft that's oftenused for flight training and
personal travel.
Now, to be very clear, hedidn't just decide to take a
bite and call it a day.
No, michel went all in.

(04:23):
So the Cessna was carefullydismantled Wings, engine,
propeller, seats, control panel,all cut into tiny ingestible
fragments.
He'd then consume about twopounds of airplane at a time,

(04:43):
grinding down the metal, mixingit with mineral oil to ease down
the passage and washing it downwith water like the world's
worst protein shake.
It took him two years, from1978 to 1980, but he finished it
.
He ate the entire airplane.

(05:06):
It remains one of the mostoutlandish records in the
Guinness Book of World Recordsand it's never been broken,
because really who else wouldeven try?
And it's never been brokenbecause really who else would
even try?
The Cessna might be his mostfamous entree, but it was far
from the only thing Michel puton his plate.

(05:26):
Over the course of his lifetime, michel reportedly consumed 18
bicycles, 15 shopping carts, 7television sets, 15 shopping

(05:50):
carts, 7 television sets, 6chandeliers, 2 beds, a coffin, a
computer, a pair of skis and,of course, the aforementioned
airplane.
He even tried to eat a sectionof the Eiffel Tower once, but
French officials politelydeclined to donate any metal.
His ability to eat and digestthese items became a global
curiosity.
He was dubbed Monsieur Manchete, which translates to Mr Eat All

(06:13):
, and he lived up to his name.
He even performed on stagesacross Europe, asia and the
Americas eating bits of metal,live in front of astonished
crowds.
People would line up to watchhim crunch through glass bite,
screws in half and polish it alloff with a bolt for dessert.

(06:34):
But perhaps the strangest partof Michel's dietary history the
one thing he couldn't digestBananas or hard-boiled eggs Too
soft, he said they upset hisstomach.
So let us think in the man whocould down a bicycle without

(06:59):
flinching couldn't handle an egg.
Now it's important to understandjust how rare Michelle's case
was.
Pica is not uncommon,particularly among children or
individuals with developmentdisorders, but Michelle's

(07:22):
version was unique.
Most people with PICA sufferserious medical complications,
suffer serious medicalcomplications.
Many require hospitalization,but Michel lived decades with no
major side effects.
In fact, he needed to eat glassand metal.
His body adapted to it socompletely that he reportedly

(07:45):
felt ill if he stuck toconventional food for far too
long.
His doctors speculated that hisstomach lining was up to twice
as thick as the average person's, allowing it to withstand sharp
edges and corrosive materials.
He also had an exceptionallyhigh tolerance to toxins,

(08:07):
including trace chemicals fromplastics and metals that would
poison anyone else.
Still, michel was regularlymonitored by physicians and he
never recommended others to trywhat he did.
He often emphasized that he wasa professional with a

(08:27):
one-of-a-kind digestive system.
With a one-of-a-kind digestivesystem, michel Lotito passed
away in 2007 at the age of 57.
His death was from naturalcauses completely unrelated to
his diet of door hinges andchandeliers.
He left behind a legacy of pureabsurdity, fascination and

(08:50):
medical mystery, and his feastsstill circulate in trivia books,
guinness World Records listsand the kind of weird corner of
the internet where Trail ofTuesdays tends to wander.
No one has even come close tomatching him, not because they

(09:11):
haven't tried, but because theycan't.
Michelle was a scientificenigma and a very literal
example of mind over matter.
Thanks for crunching throughthat with me today.
If you enjoyed this week's WildTrail, don't forget to follow

(09:34):
Clue Trail, leave a review andshare Trail of Tuesday with
someone who needs a laugh.
We'll be back next Tuesday withanother strange but true story
you never saw coming, until nexttime you.