(I have taken this straight from the source as it needs no re-wording.)
Fond du Lac's Big Mac man expected to hit 25,000 milestone next week
By Russell Plummer
The Reporter
Don Gorske sometimes cannot taste the Big Macs he eats every day.
But he keeps eating and next week he expects to hit another Big Mac Milestone: On May 17, Gorske plans to consume his 25,000th Big Mac.
Gorske, 57, says that since birth his taste buds have fluctuated in sensitivity, possibly worsening when he worked inside tanks at a factory.
However, not knowing if he’ll taste the Big Macs has not dampened his love for the McDonald’s staple.
He began eating the high-calorie special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun burgers on May 17 in 1972.
Gorske has structured his eating habits so he will devour his 25,000th Big Mac at about 3 p.m. May 17 inside the McDonald’s at 699 S. Military Ave. — exactly 39 years since he drove his father’s Dodge Polara to the original McDonald’s on Military Avenue and fell in love with the sandwich.
A handful of days this year he ate one Big Mac so he would hit the milestone on his Big Mac anniversary.
“A person like me, I just don’t change too much,” Gorske said. “It’s pretty much two Big Macs a day. When I can travel to sporting events, I like to take my Big Mac along.”
May 17 will also be Gorske’s retirement party. He has spent 25 years as a scheduling officer inside the walls of Waupun Correctional Institution.
Gorske hopes to be surrounded by friends and family Tuesday at McDonald’s where the first 300 people will be getting Gorske buttons and free meal coupons.
He will also be showing three displays only viewed by his family and the Guinness Book of World Records — the receipts, 10,000 Big Mac cartons and calendars documenting his obsession.
The need to keep track of his Big Mac consumption is part of the obsessive-compulsive disorder he has dealt with since childhood.
He wonders what his children will do with his collection, which is neatly stored in bins in his home.
“Are these going to be worth anything because their dad was crazy?” Gorske wondered.
Obsession
In 1990 — the year Gorske ate his 10,000th Big Mac — a tornado damaged the roof of his home and made a mess of his collection.
Gorske had to do the unthinkable.
“I thought, ‘I might as well get rid of them.’ I burned like 7,000 cartons over at my brother-in-law’s farm,” Gorske said.
He said his receipts and a special witness – his wife, Mary — validate his obsession.
Gorske now purchases six Big Macs on Monday and eight on Thursday. He has a spare in his freezer in case of an emergency and a special one frozen inside a container.
His eyes light up and his speech quickens when he talks about McDonald’s. A huge grin comes to his face as he pops the lid off a container in his freezer and displays the last Big Mac made on Oct. 23, 2008, at the Military Avenue McDonald’s before it was torn down in favor of a redesigned restaurant erected next door.
In his basement are relics from the original McDonald’s on Military. On a section of the wall is the seat he sat in during the film “Super Size Me,” and the booth seat where he and his father enjoyed his 10,000th Big Mac.
He stores two Big Macs in his luggage in case he cannot find a McDonald’s when he travels.
Gorske even ate a Big Mac from Hawaii that a friend mailed to him.
“I froze it and then I baked it in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees,” Gorske said. “I figured if that didn’t kill the germs, nothing would.”
His wife, a nurse, just shakes her head when Gorske tells the tale of his Hawaii burger.
Since Don just eats Big Macs and takes no vitamins, Mary has convinced her husband to purchase parfaits when he goes to McDonald’s.
In 1985, Gorske went to the doctor for a physical so he could work in the prison. On April 26 this year, he finally returned to the doctor and found out he is in good health with a cholesterol level at 156 mg/dL. Average good cholesterol rating for men age 50 and older is 208 mg/dL.
Gorske estimated he has consumed well over 200,000 Coca-Colas with his Big Macs.
He has saved every UPC since Coca-Cola went from glass bottles to aluminum cans.
Milestone reached
Gorske predicts the 25,000th Big Mac will overshadow his 20,000th celebration.
“I think 25,000 is a pretty awesome number. I’ll never live long enough to eat 50,000,” he said.
If he lives as long as his dad, Gorske will have consumed 40,000 Big Macs when he turns 86.
“I eat what I need to survive,” Gorske said.
(A few more facts before we go, courtesy of the Huffington Post)
"Gorske's wife Mary has convinced him to consume McDonald's parfaits since he does not take any vitamins and subsists mostly on Big Macs (we're a bit dubious of this suggestion as McDonald's parfaits have 21 grams of sugar per serving).
One Big Mac serving has 540 calories and 29 grams of fat. So, in total, Gorske has consumed about 13,500,000 total calories and 725,000 grams of fat from Big Macs."
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