Buzz
Pica refers to the consistent consumption of non-nutritive materials like dirt or paint, a condition that drives individuals to ingest some of the most peculiar and unimaginable items. For some, it serves as a source of comfort or a way to cope, while others develop this unusual habit after experiencing trauma or extreme stress. Regardless of the reason, it provides fascinating and bizarre insights for the rest of us.
10. Heavy Metal Consumption
Q: What connects 18 bicycles, 15 shopping carts, seven TVs, six chandeliers, two beds, and a coffin?
A: These items, along with an entire Cessna 150 airplane, were all consumed by 57-year-old Michel Lotito from France.
Lotito, another individual with pica, possesses an unusually resilient stomach and digestive system, according to doctors. He breaks objects into tiny pieces, consumes them with large quantities of water, and manages to digest metal. However, despite his extraordinary ability, he struggles with everyday foods like bananas and hard-boiled eggs. Known as “Monsieur Mangetout” (French for “Mr. Eats All”), he has even devoured a piece of the Eiffel Tower.
9. Street Food Oddities
Cooking Steps: Retrieve cat from the roadside. Rinse the pungent meat under water for up to four days or until the smell fades. Cook thoroughly before serving.
This is the approach and mindset of Arthur Boyt of England, who claims to have dined on roadkill for more than 35 years. As a taxidermist, he chooses to consume the remains of badgers, cats, and barn owls rather than discard them after preservation. Remarkably, it has never caused him any illness. Arthur stores a variety of animals, including polecats, swans, buzzards, and even reptiles, in his garage freezer. The 72-year-old asserts that the finest roadkill he ever tasted was... (drum roll)... a Labrador.
“It has a delightful flavor, somewhat similar to lamb,” he remarks. Of course, unlike lamb, it likely wasn’t someone’s beloved family pet.
8. The Human Blood Drinker
Have you ever consumed another person’s blood? If so, that’s downright disturbing! Just kidding—but Julie Caples, a 45-year-old from Pennsylvania, is serious. Every month, she drinks up to half a gallon of blood, sourced from willing donors who visit her home and allow her to draw it. She claims the blood boosts her strength, health, and energy levels. One can only wonder how she’ll feel if she contracts a blood-borne illness.
7. Fuel Fanatic
Chen Jejun, a 71-year-old Chinese man, will make you grateful for a locked gas cap. He fuels his day by consuming gasoline, averaging about liters per month. In 1969, when Chen suffered from a persistent cough and chest pain, village elders recommended he try kerosene for relief. The next day, he felt better but developed a dangerous addiction, leading him to drink approximately 1.5 tons of gasoline over 42 years.
Chen’s unusual habit cost him his marriage and family. After his wife and children failed to convince him to stop, he moved into a solitary cottage, where he freely indulges in his gasoline cravings. Experts speculate that his body has developed a tolerance to gasoline over the years, which may explain why he hasn’t suffered fatal consequences.
6. Scorpion Snacker
In most regions, scorpions are feared predators, particularly the smaller ones, which haven’t yet mastered controlling their venom and will sting repeatedly until their venom runs out.
It seems the venom is what has Li Liuqun hooked on consuming 30 of these creatures at once. The 58-year-old from China recounts that after being stung by a scorpion, he became so angry that he bit its head off.
“It had a sweet, nutty flavor, and I’ve been hooked ever since. To me, they’re a delicacy,” he explained. Chinese medical experts suggest he has developed an immunity and even an addiction to scorpion venom (and you thought heroin was problematic).
5. Foam Feast
You might reconsider inviting Adele Edwards over—or at least keep a close watch on your furniture. The 31-year-old Florida woman has spent more than 20 years tearing open couch cushions and eating the foam inside. Her preferred method involves taking foam pieces outside, rubbing them in dirt, and then consuming them. She explains that this habit started as a coping mechanism at age 10, during her parents’ tumultuous divorce, and has since turned into a full-blown addiction.
Adele now consumes roughly seven couches and three pillows annually, a habit that worries doctors about her potential risk of death. After being hospitalized for a week due to an intestinal blockage, she was diagnosed with an iron deficiency and has started taking supplements to help reduce her foam-eating compulsion.
4. Love You To Death
A 26-year-old woman named Casie, featured on TLC’s My Strange Addiction, has taken unusual eating habits to an extreme. After her husband Shawn passed away from a sudden asthma attack, Casie became fixated on carrying his ashes everywhere. One day, some ashes spilled onto her hand, leading to an unexpected action.
“I couldn’t bring myself to wipe them off because that’s my husband, and I didn’t want to erase him,” she explained. “So, I licked them off my finger.” She has consumed about one pound of Shawn’s ashes, describing the taste as similar to “rotten eggs, sand, and sandpaper.”
3. My Daughter’s Milk
Tim Browne from London consumes his daughter’s breast milk with cereal each morning, not due to pica or perversion. The 69-year-old, recently diagnosed with colon cancer, started drinking his daughter Georgia’s breast milk after learning about an American man who did the same. Having undergone chemotherapy, Tim agrees with experts who believe human milk may hold potential cancer-fighting properties. He describes the taste as “not unpleasant but slightly sharp.”
2. Urine Consumption
Things are getting stranger by the minute. Meet Carie, a 53-year-old woman who drinks her own urine. Disgusting! She might as well use it for brushing her teeth, bathing, and even rinsing her eyes. In fact, she does all of that. Carie consumes about 80 ounces of her urine daily and even uses it in a neti pot for nasal cleansing. Battling cancer, she believes that drinking her urine helps her manage the illness.
1. Soap Eater
Recall those childhood days when you’d curse so much that your mom threatened to wash your mouth with soap? Wait, maybe that was just me. Regardless, that classic punishment would’ve been far worse if it involved devouring five bars of soap weekly, like Tempestt Henderson’s unusual snack of choice.
The 19-year-old Floridian consumes about five bars of soap each week and even enjoys laundry detergent. She traces this habit back to when her boyfriend Jason left for college, using it as a coping mechanism. Tempestt claims she feels “cleaner” eating soap rather than just using it to wash. Diagnosed with pica, she underwent cognitive-behavioral therapy and is now on the path to recovery.
