Man enjoys snacking on bricks

This chap eats rocks, sand, and bricks.

[#1 posted by StRevAlex, May 11, 2009 10:53 PM]

I remember years ago reading a "Believe It Or Not!" account of a fellow who ate an entire sack of cement. I confess I've never fully understood the appeal of devouring masonry stone.

[#2 posted by FutureNerd, May 11, 2009 10:54 PM]

It's headlines like this that keep bOINGbOING on the leading edge of the blogosphere and the top of my favorites list.

[#3 posted by xgad, May 11, 2009 11:03 PM]

He literally shat bricks.

[#4 posted by Anonymous, May 11, 2009 11:41 PM]

I think I'll go try a bite of my apartment building now. I'll let you know how it tastes.

[#5 posted by rmwb, May 11, 2009 11:59 PM]

there's nothing wrong with a bit of geophagy is there...

[#6 posted by nosehat, May 12, 2009 12:05 AM]

@3 Xgad:

:)

[#7 posted by Verre, May 12, 2009 12:25 AM]

Perhaps he's practicing to eat Chichester Cathedral.

[#8 posted by Anonymous, May 12, 2009 12:45 AM]

When you see it, you'll eat bricks.

[#9 posted by apoxia, May 12, 2009 12:48 AM]

@ #6

haha, very apt :)

[#10 posted by Jack, May 12, 2009 1:27 AM]

Aren't there animals who eat rocks to aid in digestion? I mean, us humans need fiber to help digest food and such...

[#11 posted by Rickyneck, May 12, 2009 2:05 AM]

It is really nice video.
But how can digest anyone such types of thinks?

[#12 posted by HatOfEdshu, May 12, 2009 2:05 AM]

I believe a symptom of anemia is a craving to eat rocks. It recently happened to a lawyer friend of mine. She was so intent on eating the rocks, but at the same time concerned about what it could do to her teeth, that she broke up some sandstone because she thought she'd be able to eat it more easily.

[#13 posted by Anonymous, May 12, 2009 3:44 AM]

Chock full of minerals i'm sure.

[#14 posted by Marchhare, May 12, 2009 3:59 AM]

@xgad: Dammit. Beat me to it.

[#15 posted by Marchhare, May 12, 2009 4:02 AM]

@jack: Elephants eat mud sometimes for the minerals. Birds will swallow rocks to aid in digestion.

[#16 posted by cosanostradamus, May 12, 2009 4:38 AM]

.
Excellent source of fiber, but I prefer 100% organic, all natural, pure unprocessed free-range pebbles.

You don't want to know what's in those bricks & mortar! Fulla chemicals & preservatives!
.

[#17 posted by Anonymous, May 12, 2009 5:01 AM]

isn't this the guy from the Neverending Story?

[#18 posted by Anonymous, May 12, 2009 7:24 AM]

this is generally known as PICA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder)

[#19 posted by cheeken, May 12, 2009 7:25 AM]

Pretty sure this would fall under what the DSM-IV calls "pica." Not that everything needs to be diagnosed and treated as illness, but, you know, just for more information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder)

[#20 posted by Anonymous, May 12, 2009 9:32 AM]

@14: Agreed. Not everything should be treated as an illness. But if a person suddenly develops a craving like this, it's probably due to a deficiency.

Iron deficiency in particular seems to inspire all kinds of interesting behaviors- chewing on ice, eating salt packets in restaurants, craving sand.

I was anemic for a short period of time. I went for a walk on a summer evening, when people were watering their lawns. The water coming out of the hoses smelled metallic, and I badly wanted to drink it and then lick the rusty end of the hose.

Since this guy has been doing this from the age of five and appears to be under the supervision of a doctor who has hopefully done some blood work, I'm a little worried about his teeth but other than that I say more power to him.

[#21 posted by Xedrik, May 12, 2009 9:40 AM]

"...and when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."

[#22 posted by fenrox, May 12, 2009 11:20 AM]

Yeah I would not say that manic look in his eyes would be considered "Enjoyment"

[#23 posted by Jerril, May 12, 2009 1:49 PM]

My bout of anemia left me eating chalk, candle-wax and paper from old cheap paperback books.

I now know that yellow classroom chalk tastes really foul. The undyed stuff is pretty tasteless.

The really weird part was actually standing there, thinking "Damn, there's only the yellow chalk, that stuff tastes really foul" - and then eating it anyways. About the only control I had over it was choosing between yellow and white chalk, and delaying until I was somewhere private before eating chalk. NOT eating the chalk just wasn't an option.

That's about the point you hie yourself off to the doctor going "What the hell?" It was AMAZING to see how quickly taking iron supplements made the cravings go away.

On the bright side, chalk is pretty chewable compared to some other rocks, and it will do WONDERFUL things for controlling plaque. Probably terrible things to your tooth enamel, but your teeth will be VERY clean.

[#24 posted by Anonymous, May 16, 2009 6:07 PM]

Is this even possible? How can anyone have teeth strong enough to crunch through brick?

[#25 posted by Takuan, May 16, 2009 6:40 PM]

http://www.greencine.com/images/static/moonraker_jaws.jpg