Mangetout munches on a glass

In this story:

• Monsieur Mangetout's work is eating
• 'He's basically a normal guy'
• Also enjoys a regular meal

VILLARS DE LANS, France (CNN) -- The beautiful French village of Villars de Lans is home to a man with an appetite for things that have nothing to do with the food for which his country is famous.

His name is Michel Lotito, but he is better known as Monsieur Mangetout, a man whose work is eating.

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Mangetout, as his name implies ("mange" means to eat, "tout" means "all") eats almost anything. His biggest meal to date is an airplane, but he has a taste for such other delicacies as bicycles and TV sets.

"The biggest thing that I've ever eaten -- which gained me a place in the Guinness Book of Records -- is a plane. It was a Cessna, model number 150," Mangetout says. "I've eaten 18 bicycles, just as many television sets, supermarket trolleys."

A 'light' snack for Mangetout

He adds, "I've even eaten a coffin! It was empty; no one was inside."

Mangetout says he simply has to concentrate when dining on such oddities. He eats, digests and passes these items naturally, and does not suffer from side-effects.

He says that if his brain tells him to eat something, his stomach allows him to digest it.

'He's basically a normal guy'

This strange pastime of his is not just a hobby. He gets paid to eat odd things, and earlier this year made a guest appearance at the London Auto Show.

Nevertheless, his appetite is the result of compulsive behavior that began when he started eating bits of metal, glass and even poisonous materials from television sets when he was 9.

Dr. Bernard Morzol has long studied Mangetout, and says that as long as he's known him, he has never suffered from any hemorrhages. A recent X-ray of his stomach shows the remnants of several pieces of metal and a chain.

"We've tried to study him from all points of view," Morzol says. "We've tried to understand this phenomenon, these antidotes created by his body, but he's basically a normal guy. He gets sick like everybody else, but the illnesses are not related to the fact that he can absorb metal."

It must have been something he ate

Doctors found that Mangetout's stomach lining is twice as thick as a normal stomach lining, which explains why he is able to digest these things. The doctors concluded that his rare condition must have developed when he was still in his mother's womb.

Also enjoys a regular meal

Mangetout enjoys the attention, and the trips his compulsion has won him. And his companion, Marcelle, says Mangetout also enjoys a regular meal.

"I'm a pretty good cook," she says. "I make delicious meals that are well-prepared and well-balanced. Evening meals are sacred. When he chooses his menu outside of the house, then that is his business what he eats."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.