"Guinness World Records" vaguely lists Michel Lotito as the individual with the all-time "strangest diet." More specifically, the France-born individual, born in 1950, entered the record books at the age of 9 because of his compulsion — and anomalous ability to process and digest — things that were not food. X-rays on his stomach obtained by gastroenterologists revealed that Lotito really could maintain a diet consisting primarily of metal. He ate around 2 pounds of it a day, supplementing all that aluminum and steel with some glass.
Beginning in 1966, Lotito made a show of his condition, slowly consuming entire vehicles and objects over time, including 18 bikes, 15 grocery carts, seven TV sets, a couple of beds, some skis, a computer, and even a small Cessna airplane. By 1997, Lotito had eaten a total of around 9 tons of metal. He died in 2007 of natural causes but not before he, ironically, consumed an entire coffin.
The desire or deep need to eat non-food is a condition called pica, which is treatable with modern medical methods and technology, says Healthline. People no longer suffer from the disease to the extent that Lotito did, meaning his years-long, record-setting acts of metal consumption will likely remain in "Guinness World Records" for years to come.
