True American Hero Has Eaten 2 Big Macs a Day Since 1972, for a Grand Total of 32,340. And Still Has the Wrappers.
Source - A man who has eaten at least two Big Macs a day for nearly half a century has kept every receipt—and burger box.
Donald Gorske is the Guinness World Record holder for the most Big Macs eaten in a lifetime, after chomping down on 32,340 sandwiches.
Gorske, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, began his love affair with the fast-food chain in 1972, after getting his first car.
He headed straight to the golden arches where he bought three of McDonald's signature burgers. In the beginning he would eat up to nine sandwiches a day. ...
Gorkse has meticulously filed away every burger receipt since 1972 along with the burger packaging, which he flattens down and stores in boxes by the year. And he even marks down how many he's eaten on a calendar, just to ensure he doesn't miss any. ...
He raved: "... I am closing in on 50 years of eating them next year, after eating a Big Mac every single day. ... When I like something, I stick with it all the time."
It's cliche' at a time like this to say, "We use the word 'hero' far too often." But I don't apologize for putting it in that headline because no other word will suffice.
What are the qualities we look for in a hero? Someone we can hold up as an example we should all aspire to? Someone we tell our children about as someone they should try to emulate? Dedication. Devotion. Commitment. Never giving up. Believing in one's self against all odds. Doing the seemingly impossible. And Donald Gorske of Fond cu Lac, WI checks every, single one of those boxes. And more.
Because what Gorske has done is a straight up Hero's Journey, straight out of Joseph Campbell's "Hero with a Thousand Faces." A classic Monomyth. From the Call to Adventure that came in the front seat of his AMC Gremlin (I'm guessing; I have no idea what kind of whip he owned; he just seems like a big Shitbox Guy and that car was the worst) to his Departure from the Ordinary World to his Road of Trials to his final triumph, his life of Big Macs has been a Jungian archetype of adventure, triumph and redemption.
And like any hero, he's saved the people he was called to save. Which is all of us. His epic quest has proven to all of us that medical science is bullshit. That we don't need to deny ourselves the pleasure of comfort food, eat right and stay healthy in order to live long, happy lives. On the contrary. Indulge like Donald Gorske and 50 years down the road, you'll still be firing down the two all-beef patties in the front seat of a car equipped with GPS, Bluetooth and satellite radio and happier than anyone alive. Drown yourself in a sea of special sauce and fill your life with its secret formula joy. That's a message we all want to hear.
Think about this. You can't check the news for more than a day or two without them doing a report about some old lady who just hit her 108th birthday. And without exception, they ask her what the key to her longevity is. Also without exception, the old prune never once says, "I exercised daily, limited my intake to healthy foods rich in green, leafy vegetables in reasonable portions and got all my proteins from beans and nuts." It's always about what booze she drank, what she smoked and how much delightfully tasty foods she overindulged in. As God and Ray Kroc intended. Our species didn't claw our way to the top of the food chain just to subsist on Belgian Endive and Radicchio.
So bless you, Donald Gorske. I would never sit in the back seat of your car. And suggest you need serious professional help to conquer that problem of hoarding your wrappers. But damn if I don't admire you're ability to stick with doing the thing you love. May you bury us all.