Life Imitates Art

There is an episode of The Simpsons in which Homer (and, in guilt by association, Marge) are kicked out of an all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant because, as the owner puts it, Homer "'Tis no man. 'Tis a remorseless eating machine." Homer later goes on to sue the fish joint because, as his attorney (and my legal mentor) Lionel Hutz puts it, "this is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film, The Never-Ending Story."

Homer, apparently, is not alone. Witness, from the BCC, the tale of Rappai, the "monster eater," who has been forced into retirement because of health problems. Rappai's rapaciousness was legendary, to the point that restaurants in his home tome of Trissur, India had to abandon all-you-can-eat buffets:

On one famous occasion, the man who locally became known as Theeta (monster eater) took advantage of a local restaurant's 'unlimited meals' coupon.

He reputedly scoffed three bucketfuls of rice, one bucket of fish curry and 10 kgs of cooked meat.

The restaurant in question ran out of food, and police had to be called in to restore order as a large crowd gathered to watch Rappai in action.

Of course, that's what happened to Homer in the end, too!