Wisconsin Man Celebrates 50 Years of Eating Big Macs Every Day
If you've seen the documentary Super Size Me, you might remember Don Gorske.
Gorske was the friendly, lanky fellow with perfectly round glasses and a bowl cut. He proudly shared with documentarian Morgan Spurlock that he's eaten at least one McDonald's Big Mac almost every day since he first tried the sandwich in 1972.
This week, Gorske is celebrating 50 years of consuming Big Macs. He has the receipts to prove it too. Since 1972, he's only went eight days without eating one.
As of Tuesday, Gorske has eaten 32,944 Big Macs, an almost unfathomable amount. The 68-year-old is a lifelong resident of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where he's been going to the same local McDonald's since he first ate the sandwich. He broke the Guinness World Record for most Big Mac burgers eaten in a lifetime in 1999 after eating 15,490. Guinness has been keeping tabs on Gorske ever since.
Maybe more shocking is the information Gorske has revealed about his Big Mac diet. He's claimed that the sandwich constitutes "90 to 95 percent" of his food-intake. A doctor visit in 2011, his first since 1985, his cholesterol was found to be lower than the average. One of the reasons Gorske is so skinny is that he consumes fewer calories daily than the average American.
Consider if Gorske ate two Big Macs in one day, that would amount to 1,126 calories (563 per sandwich). He's added that he rarely orders fries at McDonald's too. While his fluid intake is a mystery, it's understandable why Gorske, say, doesn't look like he's eaten 32,000 Big Macs.
Lastly, you might be wondering what happened on those eight days since 1972 that Gorske did not consume a single Big Mac? Varying circumstances. One of those days was when his mother died; he didn't eat a Big Mac to respect her request. Another day, the local McDonald's was closed due to significant snowfall. Then there was one Thanksgiving, days he was traveling and couldn't locate a McDonald's, and a select few days Gorske worked overnights. Gorske was a correctional officer for 25 years before retiring in 2011.
I used to watch Super Size Me a lot as a kid, so I've kept tabs on Don Gorske for over 15 years. He's a unique specimen, and I hope one day he makes it to 40,000 Big Macs. I wouldn't bet against him.