May 4, 2010

"I only eat the light bulb during my breakfast, and each day no more than one bulb."

Wang Xianjun likes eating light bulbs. They're "crispy and delicious." He's 54 and he's being doing it since he was 12:
"I accidentally swallowed a piece of thick fish bone, but nothing happened. With curiosity, I tried several pieces of broken glasses secretly and nothing happened also."
Ha. Why do we love these stories about people eating non-food items? I remember reading Natalie Goldberg's essay "Man Eats Car":
There was an article in the newspaper several years ago — I did not read it, it was told to me — about a yogi in India who ate a car. Not all at once, but slowly over a year's time. Now, I like a story like that. How much weight did he gain? How old was he? Did he have a full set of teeth? Even the carburetor, the steering wheel, the radio? What make was the car? Did he drink the oil?

14 comments:

Known Unknown said...

Why don't Americans eat more of this stuff? Why is it always those Easterners?

ricpic said...

Lip smackingly good but OY those evacuations.

Greg Hlatky said...

Why don't Americans eat more of this stuff?

See: Tim Rossovich.

MadisonMan said...

I will guess christmas tree lights, not spotlights.

bagoh20 said...

I imagine a nice bowl of Christmas bulbs at the end of the buffet table, with a "light" vinaigrette, of course.

Richard Dolan said...

"Why do we love these stories about people eating non-food items?"

What do you mean "We"? Have you even asked Meade? Only folks who follow Idol are likely to love these stories.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

My father used to tell the story of my stepmother eating dirt when she was pregnant.. It was a particular type of silty clay from a construction site her sister's husband was hauling off.

Andrea said...

What's this "we" stuff? I don't enjoy reading about people eating glass, metal shards, and poison. It makes me queasy. I'm only even commenting on this (normally I'd scroll right past it as fast as my finger could move the mouse button) because of that whole "we" thing. Don't assume people have the same tastes you do.

Steve M. Galbraith said...

And if he wants to read in the middle of the night, he just...

Yeah, I should work for Leno.

Apparently, he needs help.

J.R. said...

I read a story the other day about a man who claimed not to have taken any sustenance or fluids in 70 years. He was being studied to learn how people could cope with deprivation.

All I could think was that some scientists are terribly gullible.

rhhardin said...

I don't see how it's different from birds' nest soup or chiken feet.

Justin said...

Michel Lotito made an entire career out of eating inedible objects. His crowning achievement was an entire Cessna 150 over the course of 2 years.

Cedarford said...

Guy has to be one of Al Gore's heroes.

Making the planet safe from incandescent bulbs.

One meal at a time.

Anorak said...

Grow your own light bulbs

http://www.anorak.co.uk/247317/strange-but-true/man-grows-and-eats-own-light-bulbs.html