Pica

From my Nutrition Now textbook:

"When did I start eating clay? I know it might sound strange to you, but I started craving clay in the summer of '58. It was a beautiful spring morning- it had just rained. I smelled something really sweet in the breeze coming in my bedroom window. I went outside and knew instantly where the sweet smell was coming from. It was the wet clay that lies all around my house. I scooped some up and tasted it. That's when and how I started my craving for that sweet-smelling clay. I keep some in the fridge now because it tastes even better cold."

Pica- the regular consumption of nonfood substances such as clay or laundry starch.

A list of nonfood substances reported to be consumed by individuals with pica:

animal droppings
baking soda
burnt matches
cigarette butts
clay
cloth
coal
coffee grounds
cornstarch
crayons
dirt
foam rubber
hair
laundry starch
leaves
mothballs
nylon stockings
paint chips
paper
paste
pebbles
plaster
sand
string
wool

Now if that isn't food for thought I don't know what is!