A man has been eating sand for the past 25 years.
Man scoffs sand and bricks
Hans Raj, 45, has earnt himself the deserving nickname ''sand man'' around his village after he proudly boasts about scoffing the grainy material, gravel and fragments of bricks.
He said: ''I have been eating bricks and rocks for around 25 years now. I love eating them. I don't think they have been any harmful effects on me. I started at a young age. Now it feels like all this is very normal to me. In my opinion, minerals in sand give me energy as do bits of masonry.''
And, although he's spent almost three decades munching on the blocks, Hans - from northern India - is adamant he's never suffered any health complications because of his addiction.
He explained: ''I have suffered no problems in stomach and mouth. My teeth are absolutely fine. I can bite into the hardest stone without a problem.''
However, doctors from Uttar Pradesh, in northern India, believe his cravings could be down to a condition called Pica, which is an eating disorder that sees people develop appetites for normally non-edible objects.
Hal added to the Daily Mail newspaper: ''I would try and take out a loose brick or crumbly parts of someone's house.
''That was the only way for me to get my regular doses of rocks and other things.''