Tarrare

MAY 29, 1772 — Hailing from Lyon, France, Tarrare was a man whose hunger knew no bounds, literally. He was born with an insatiable appetite, capable of devouring an entire basket of apples, corks, stones, and even live animals. This peculiar ability quickly moved him from humble beginnings to a career as a traveling showman, where his gastronomic feats amazed and repulsed audiences alike.

His unusual diet continued into his military service, where he would reportedly eat medical waste, and famously, an entire 15-pound meal meant for 15 soldiers. Despite his immense intake, he remained thin, suggesting a metabolic mystery that baffled contemporary physicians. One particularly grim episode involved the suspected consumption of a toddler, an act that finally led to his expulsion from the military hospital and, likely, universal disgust.

Tarrare's life was a testament to the extremes of human physiology and the often-unpleasant curiosities that captured public attention in the 18th century. He was a living, breathing, and regrettably, very hungry enigma, whose story continues to be told with a mix of fascination and horror.

He died in 1798 from what was eventually diagnosed as "phthisis ulcerated with suppuration of the liver and lungs," likely exacerbated by his lifetime of unconventional consumption, proving that even a bottomless pit eventually reaches its bottom.