The 25 Weirdest Things Eaten By A Human
We’ve all eaten something that other people think is strange, whether it’s an odd food combination or just plain gross. But the people in this collection take weird eating to a whole new level, swallowing items from diamond rings to hairballs. Read along as we take a look at these items and how they got there.
-
Drugs
Even though it’s incredibly illegal and dangerous, drug mules still risk their life and freedom by smuggling cocaine and other illicit substances in their bodies. One woman in particular swallowed 100 pellets of latex-wrapped cocaine, each one of them full of more than 1.2 grams of cocaine, a lethal dose.
-
False teeth
A woman swallowed her lover’s false teeth while kissing. The woman says that they were experimenting with a “special type of passionate kiss.” She made it to the hospital and fortunately did not require surgery. The woman eventually passed the teeth after two days in the hospital. -
Tape worms
You would think that most people would be smart enough to realize that swallowing a parasitic worm is both dangerous and disgusting, but you’d be wrong. Women and men have knowingly ingested tapeworms and allowed them to live in their bodies. Why? Weight loss, of course. The tapeworm diet requires that you eat infected beef carcass, and then after a specific amount of time, take prescribed medicine to kill the parasite that has taken residence in your body.
-
Grill
A seven year old boy was rushed to the hospital after accidentally swallowing his “grill,” a decorative piece of mouth jewelry his mother purchased for him at a flea market. The grill fell out of his teeth and he started choking on it, eventually swallowing it. Doctors recommended that he allow the mouth piece to pass through his body naturally. -
$650
A man in France swallowed about 350 coins, along with other assorted metal objects, including needles. When he arrived at the hospital, doctors discovered that the mass in his stomach weighed 12 pounds, enough to force his stomach down between his hips. Doctors performed emergency surgery, but the man died from complications 12 days later. This was not the first time the man had been in the hospital for removal of coins from his stomach. Apparently, he liked to steal coins and eat them.
-
Cockroach and fork
A woman in Israel had a cockroach jump into her mouth as she was cleaning her home. In an effort to remove the pest, she used a fork, which she accidentally swallowed along with the cockroach. The fork became lodged sideways in her stomach, and had to be removed with laproscopic surgery. The surgery was successful, but we can probably assume that she digested the cockroach.
-
Toothbrush
A 20 year old woman was using her toothbrush to clean the back area of her tongue when she triggered her gag reflex. This gagging caused her to swallow the toothbrush. Doctors removed the toothbrush through her esophagus using alligator forceps. At the time of her ingestion, she was one of only 40 people known to have ingested a toothbrush, most of whom were diagnosed with bulimia or anorexia nervosa. -
Magnets
A little girl in Indianapolis recently ingested about 30 magnetic pieces from a Magnetix toy. It was one of her favorite toys, given to her for Christmas by her adoptive father. The magnets created a life threatening situation for her, as the magnets can come together and rip through intestines, causing damage comparable to a gunshot or stab wound. She suffered eight tears, but eventually pulled through after surgery. The girl had a history of swallowing foreign objects in her home country of Russia. The toy company has recalled the item to add a warning label about magnetic ingestion. -
Antenna
A 28 year old man with a personality disorder swallowed an aerial antenna and pens which had to be removed with a laparotomy after endoscopy was unsuccessful. All told, the surgery resulted in the retrieval of two pens, six sections of a radio antenna, a pen refill, and a pencil. Just three weeks earlier, the man had swallowed other objects including stationery. Doctors believe that the man intended to cause himself harm. -
Door key
A college student at Bournemouth University in Dorset was attending a party and had a bit too much to drink. When his friends insisted that he go home, he swallowed his key so that he could stay. One of his friends attempted the Heimlich maneuver, and other tried to induce vomiting with salt water, but the key remained. The boy received medical attention, but was advised to let the key pass naturally. It came out, and he put it back on his keyring after cleaning. -
Wire mesh
A prisoner who has being held in a cell with wire mesh walls attempted to eat his way out of jail. The man would twist off pieces of the wire mesh and hide the pieces by swallowing him. After receiving medical attention, doctors determined that he could allow the wire pieces to pass naturally.
-
Mercury battery
A 3 year old girl was brought to a doctor by her parents after she swallowed a foreign object, and was quickly found to have swallowed a mercury battery. This created an incredibly dangerous situation, as mercury is very poisonous to humans. Unfortunately, the girl’s gastric acids had already corroded the battery, despite endoscopic removal and chelation therapy, she developed renal failure. Batteries are now designed to be more resistant to acid.
-
Vest buckle
This image is one of the first X-rays taken by the Mayo brothers. It shows a vest buckle that had been swallowed by a small boy. They were able to remove the buckle, and the value of the X-ray was proven to be great. -
20 cobblestones
In a fight with her boyfriend, a woman from China swallowed more than 20 cobblestones. She assumed that the stones would come out after a few days, but she discovered they would not budge, and worse, they were knocking around in her stomach. She was advised to seek surgery.
-
Screwdriver bit
One woman’s child swallowed a screwdriver bit, but everything came out alright. -
Human flesh
An aspiring rap star in Los Angeles murdered his roommate and ate part of her lung. He was found walking naked and covered in blood, with blood and human flesh in his stomach. The reasoning behind this stunt? His record label wanted him to cultivate a “gangsta” image, and provided him with drugs to encourage an extremely violent disposition. -
Planes, etc.
Michael Lotito, a French entertainer, will eat just about anything, including airplanes. He reportedly ate a Cessna 150 over two years’ time. He does not suffer any complications from eating so much metal, as he has incredibly thick digestive organ walls and powerful digestive acids.
-
Thermometer
An adult woman swallowed a thermometer, and six weeks later visited a doctor for treatment of abdominal pain and vomiting. The thermometer contained mercury, and doctors feared that it was broken. Her abstruction and adhesions were treated with surgery.
-
Spoon
A woman was brought into a hospital for swallowing coins, a spoon, and a 9 volt battery. She reported that she occasionally gets the urge to eat something made of metal. While in the hospital, the woman ingested paper clips. All of the swallowed objects were later recovered with endoscopic surgery. -
750 grams of metal
An Ethiopian man ate an amazing amount of metal-222 objects, to be exact. The objects weighed in at more than 750 grams, and included nails, keys, watch batteries, and door keys. He’d been swallowing these items for at least two years. Some of the nails could have easily perforated his internal organs, but the man survived and was last reported to be recovering in surgery. -
Bed springs
Some prisoners are desperate to get some relief from jail time. So much so, that prisoners in Central Prison in Raleigh, NC regularly swallow items in order to be allowed out of the prison for hospital trips. At least one remarkable prisoner ate a bed spring.
-
Stolen ring
From the dumb criminals department, a man in England tried to walk out of a jewelry store with an engagement ring by swallowing it. The man wanted to propose to his girlfriend, and tried to convince the clerk that was showing it to him that he’d given it back. He was quickly found out with an X-ray swipe from police. The ring was eventually returned to the jeweler, but he does not expect to get full retail value for it. -
Bullet
A woman in California swears that she quite literally “bit the bullet” while eating a hot dog. She claims that she swallowed one, and then bit a second one. An X-ray revealed that she had a bullet in her stomach, although she was optimistic, noting that eating is “the most secure way for a bullet to enter your body.” -
Smokey quartz
A young girl swallowed a smokey quartz, which came with a Treasure of the Earth magazine. Her mother told her to put it somewhere safe, and apparently, she did. Everything came out just fine. -
Hair
A 10-pound hairball was found in the belly of an 18 year old woman in New England. She apparently had a habit of eating her own hair. The mass had to be removed by surgery.
Did you enjoy this article?