Sam Amico
People use it for French fries, hamburgers and hot dogs — but ketchup on its own? Yeah, no thanks.
Videos by Rare
Then again, when you have no choice, there are probably worse things to eat.
That was the story of Elvis Francois, a man who was lost at sea for 24 days. He survived on tomato sauce and seasonings, and nothing more.
Francois, 47, was stuck in the water, floating on his boat, as the result of some nasty weather.
“It was rough,” Francois told NBC News. “Without food, it was just a bottle of ketchup that was on the boat. Garlic powder and Maggi (stock cubes), so I mixed it up with some water.”
Elvis Has Been Found!
He was eventually rescued by the Colombian military.
“The final day, I saw a plane. I had a mirror. I was making some signals,” Francois said. “They passed over the boat twice so I realized they saw me. I am grateful for being alive today because of them.”
Fittingly, Heinz has since launched a campaign to deliver a new boat to Francois. But first Heinz had to find him.
“Heinz wants to celebrate his safe return home and help him buy a new boat… but we can’t seem to find him,” read an Instagram post from the popular ketchup brand.
“So, we’re setting this message adrift into the sea of the internet, because if anyone can help us find him, it’s you. If you or anyone you know can help us get in contact with Elvis Francois, please drop us a DM.”
Francois was eventually located by Heinz.
“Thank you, internet,” a second Heinz post read. “We received thousands of likes, shares, and messages of kindness in our search to find Elvis Francois. It was an incredible group effort across six continents that led to the hundreds of articles and leads and our eventual contact with Elvis.”
It’s hard to know if Francois will ever want to eat ketchup again, but hey, it’s hard to complain about a new boat as a result of surviving on the condiment.
