One defining feature of his natal chart is the relatively rare 90-degree meeting of Uranus and Neptune (the same feature is present in the first-ever test of the hydrogen bomb). In a natal chart, this is characteristic of endless spiritual seeking of an uncertain goal, hence, the search goes on. At least Gorske, a Sagittarius, had a vision and a quest.
See Guinness World Record video about Don Gorske
A MAN walks into a McDonald’s in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and orders a Big Mac for the first time. He loves it so much, he eats three of them. Did he know he would be doing this every day for the next 50 years, and more? In a project that would spread across all 50 states? That man was Don Gorske, then age 19, world record holder for eating the most Big Macs.It was a long time ago. The same month, FBI founding director J. Edgar Hoover died. George Wallace was shot by a would-be assassin at a campaign stop. The United States began “precision bombing” of North Vietnam, under orders from old Dick Nixon. Speaking of, the Watergate burglary that would bring him down was one month away.
Hit songs that era included Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” (or was it cholesterol) and the Rolling Stones’ “Tumbling Dice.” Heck, it was still almost the 1960s.
Gorske bought a car from his father and took his first trip — to McDonald’s.
The Planets Speak
So What was the Astrology of this longterm Supersize Me experiment? We don’t know what time Don Gorske sat down for lunch or dinner that day, so I am using a noon chart.
The standout aspect — the one your eye goes right to — is a conjunction of Venus and Mars in the home-cooking sign of Cancer. But this was more than comfort food. It was the beginning of a longterm domestic partnership. In fact, it may have been a marriage.
Venus and Mars form an aspect pattern that involves Juno, an asteroid associated with marriage and advocacy. Clearly, this was a longterm commitment; in the spirit of the time, it was also an activist endeavor. But looking at this chart, and at his natal chart (noon only), it’s hard not to see this as a sexual endeavor; he has Mercury, Venus and Saturn in Scorpio, and Mars and Neptune in equally saucy Libra.
He is like the Summa Cum Laude poster child of decentralized, industrialized agriculture. I can’t believe he’s not hooked up to a ventilator, defibrillator, and dialysis machine. Yet, he’s exactly the opposite of all that.
As for Chiron: Conjunct Eris
This chart is a study in the astrology of its era. It is a kind of “perfect example” moment. One one such aspect is Chiron conjunct Eris in Aries. This is the astrology of the Women’s Lib movement, of Roe v. Wade. This is astrology with a rebellious streak to it.
It is the signature of the “identity politics” that took over when the anti-Vietnam War movement fractured into a million bits and pieces: the Student Movement, the Environmental Movement, the Gay Rights movement, the Black Power movement, and whatever movement chowing down 30,000 Big Macs would be part of. Now, he is at the Chiron return of his adventure, and this chart will be fully activated.
What next-generation movement will be spawned? What hasn’t been done? What part of American marketing has not been turned into a cultural icon?
Chiron represents medical issues. We might simply ask, how is this person still alive? After just one month of eating like this, Morgan Spurlock was put on death watch.
So really, these charts should be a study in how this guy has survived. Gregory Lewis, the new Planet Waves web developer, summed it up better than I did:
“Fascinating. I don’t know where to begin. He is like the Summa Cum Laude poster child of decentralized, industrialized agriculture. I can’t believe he’s not hooked up to a ventilator, defibrillator, and dialysis machine. Yet, he’s exactly the opposite of all that. He seems to be in reasonably good condition. And obviously he can afford his special spiritual path. I think McDonald’s owes this guy a house in Margaritaville.”
Jupiter, which magnifies things, is opposite Venus and Mars, in Capricorn. You would think that the McDonald’s corporation put him up to this, but I doubt it.
Uranus square Neptune: The Endless Quest
One defining feature of his natal chart is the relatively rare 90-degree meeting of Uranus and Neptune (the same feature is present in the first-ever test of the hydrogen bomb). In a natal chart, this is characteristic of endless spiritual seeking of an uncertain goal, hence, the search goes on. At least Gorske, a Sagittarius, had a vision and a quest.
Jupiter, which magnifies things, is opposite Venus and Mars, in Capricorn. You would think that the McDonald’s corporation put him up to this, but I doubt it.
Still, he documented his endeavor with the precision of back-office bean counters, saving most of his receipts and collecting some 50 styles of containers used to serve the burgers over the years. (Based on this, I am going go upgrade the chart to Virgo rising. In his natal chart, he has his Moon in health- and hygiene-conscious, super organized Virgo.)
Neptune and Pholus: The Drug of Choice
Neptune’s presence in the aspect pattern of his first Big Mac suggests that like all great artists, he’s slightly delusional, but at least he believes in himself.
And Neptune is augmented by its pressurized cousin, the centaur Pholus. This is the centaur about pulling the cork off of the bottle and releasing the jin, or the “small cause with a big effect.” With Pholus, things keep going and going and going, until they finally stop. The chart for the introduction of the Big Mac in April 1967 also has Pholus square Neptune; it’s probably the same square, which held for many years and was still exact five years after the product went on the market.
But wait. I just looked Gorske up in Wikipedia to get some additional details (it’s fantastic for bullshit like this). Here is what I learned: Gorske does not merely eat Big Macs daily, he lives on them.
But wait. I just looked Gorske up in Wikipedia to get some additional details (it’s fantastic for bullshit like this). Here is what I learned: Gorske does not merely eat Big Macs daily, he lives on them. And given the contents of “fast food,” we can see the influence of both Neptune and Pholus, both of which address matters of addiction. I am reluctant to count food under this classification, but sometimes it qualifies.
Gorske claims that after getting his first car, the first place he went to was the McDonald’s on Military Road in his hometown of Fond du Lac on May 17, 1972. He purchased and ate three Big Macs at lunch time. He then returned two more times that day to consume a total of nine Big Macs the same day he discovered the burger.
He further claims to have eaten 265 Big Macs in the following month, an average of 8.5 Big Macs per day. If true, this would be equivalent to over 4,600 calories and 247 grams of low quality fat daily, for a total of 143,100 calories and 16.9 pounds of fat in one month. He also claims to drink almost nothing but Coca-Cola and, according to Super Size Me, he rarely eats the fries. At first, Don kept all the boxes of Big Macs he ate in the back of his car. He met and proposed to his wife, Mary, at a McDonald’s in 1975.
In addition, he has a statue of Ronald McDonald in his yard. Gorske also states that he has only eaten one Burger King Whopper sandwich in his life in 1984 and will never eat one again. Gorske claimed that he first tried a Whopper after his friend bet him $5 to do so and that he then spent the money on Big Macs.
In 2003, Don Gorske ate 741 Big Macs, an average of 2.03 Big Macs per day. Gorske is 6 foot 2 inches tall (1.88m), 185 pounds (83 kg), and claims a cholesterol level of 140…Gorske consumes mainly calorie-rich food, but he maintains a stable weight by consuming fewer calories daily than the average American. He says his taste buds have always fluctuated in sensitivity, so he often eats a Big Mac without being able to taste it.
And therein lies the secret to the special sauce.