Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Don Gorske: 25,000 Big Macs

UPDATE: 25,000 and counting; FdL's Big Mac man hits next milestone


A crowd of media representatives, friends, family and onlookers gathers around Fond du Lac's Don Gorske as he eats his 25,000th Big Mac at McDonald's in Fond du Lac./(The Reporter photo by Justin Connaher)
A McFlurry of media arrived in Fond du Lac Tuesday afternoon to capture a Big Mac moment.

At about 3:30 p.m., Don Gorske consumed his 25,000th Big Mac to cheers from the crowd that packed McDonald’s at 699 S. Military Road.

About eight television cameras jostled for position to film the world record while a band beneath the golden arches played Dixieland music to celebrate the Fond du Lac man’s accomplishment.

...[Owner Dave] Rause said he woke up Tuesday morning and thought, “Don did it.”

Gorske, he said, is the perfect customer.

“As a business, we’re exceptionally lucky to have a customer like Don,” Rause said. “He’s just an exceptional guy and a sweet, sweet man. He’s also a Big Mac enthusiast. When you have a customer who’s enthusiastic about your product, it’s a great thing.

“You hear a lot of bad news. Then you have a guy like Don who does something interesting from a human standpoint.”

Prior to eating his 25,000th burger, Gorske made a lap around Fond du Lac’s first McDonald’s and the 100th built in the company’s history to pass out free meal cards and shake the hands of his friends and admirers.

A group of students from Winnebago Lutheran Academy rushed out of school to witness the feat.

This really has to be Michelle Obama's worst nightmare.

I kind of want to eat a Big Mac.


Video, from the Associated Press:


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It seems like just yesterday Don Gorske was downing his 23,000th Big Mac.

Actually, it was in September 2008.


Don Gorske bites into his 18,000th Big Mac in this November, 2001, file photo. (AP)

I don't now which is more astounding -- the fact that Don Gorske has consumed 23,000 Big Macs or the fact that he has lived to tell about it.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:


A 54-year-old man says his obsessive-compulsive disorder drove him to eat 23,000 Big Macs in 36 years.

Fifty-four-year-old Don Gorske says he hit the milestone last month, continuing a pleasurable obsession that began May 17, 1972.

...Gorske has kept every burger receipt in a box. He says he was always fascinated with numbers, and watching McDonald's track its number of customers motivated him to track his own consumption.

The only day he skipped a Big Mac was the day his mother died, to respect her request.

Today, Gorske will pass another milestone in the journey that he began on May 17, 1972.

He will consume Big Mac 25,000.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:


Don Gorske plans to eat his 25,000th Big Mac on the 39th anniversary of eating his first.

A special ceremony is planned at McDonald's in Fond du Lac Tuesday afternoon.

The 57-year-old Fond du Lac man said he ate nine on May 17, 1972 and has only missed nine days since then, for various reasons. He usually eats two a day.

He has kept most of the boxes or receipts or has made specific notes in calendars that he's kept.

Gorske said he probably has an obsessive-compulsive disorder but he doesn't consider it a problem.

He jokes that 25,000 is a milestone because people didn't think he'd live this long. But he said he recently saw a doctor who said he was in good health and his cholesterol was low.

Some people really can eat whatever they want and not suffer ill effects.

Take note, Michelle Obama.

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View the Fon du Lac Reporter's photo gallery of Gorske's Big Mac moments.

The guy really loves Big Macs.

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