Donald Gorske of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, is a "Big Mac enthusiast" who has eaten over 20,000 Big Mac hamburgers in his lifetime, winning a place in the 2005 Guinness Book of Records in the process. He claims the Big Mac constitutes 90% of his total solid food intake. He is featured in the documentaries Super Size Me (2004) and Don Gorske: Mac Daddy (2005).
History
On his first trip to McDonald's in April, 1972, Gorske purchased and ate three Big Macs at lunch time. He then returned two more times that day to consume a total of nine Big Macs the same day he discovered the sandwich. He also drinks almost nothing but Coca Cola and, according to Super Size Me, he rarely eats the fries. At first, Don kept all the boxes of Big Macs he ate in the back of his car. In 2003 Don Gorske ate 741 Big Macs, an average of 2.03 Big Macs per day. Despite maintaining what many would consider to be an unhealthy diet, Gorske is 6 feet (1.83 m) tall, 180 pounds (82 kg), and claims a cholesterol level of 140. However, his claimed average daily consumption of two Big Macs amounts to only 1080 calories, according to the nutritional information published by McDonald's[1], although this does not take into account his energy intake from fluids. In comparison, the average American consumes 3,900 calories per day.[2] Thus, whilst Gorske consumes mainly calorie-rich food, he maintains a stable weight by eating a lesser volume of food than the average American. He proposed to his wife Mary, in his favorite McDonald's parking lot. Don Gorske also records when and where he eats his Big Macs in a notebook that he carries with him all of the time. Appearing in the documentary Super Size Me, Don claims in 1984 he was once paid $5 to eat a Whopper. He ate the Whopper, then took the money and used it to purchase a Big Mac at a nearby McDonald's. In the DVD extras for the film, it is revealed he works as a prison guard. In 2006, Don appeared as a contestant on the game show "I've Got a Secret." Celebrity panelist Billy Bean was able to guess the Big Mac as Don's food of choice.
References
External links
- Man Eats His 18,000th Big Mac: Keeps Extra Supply In Freezer November, 2001
- Big Mac eater downs 19,000th burger March, 2003
- Spotlight on Gorske July 18, 2004
- Don Gorske at the Internet Movie Database
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