Tarrare was a French man born in 1772 with an insatiable appetite due to a gross biological error. By his teens, he could eat an entire quarter of a cow carcass in one day and had a stretched-out mouth, stained teeth, and an incredibly high metabolism. He was kicked out of his home and eventually became a street performer in Paris, eating large quantities of food in front of crowds. He was later enlisted in the war and used his abilities to help the military, but his condition was never cured. He continued to get into trouble, including eating scraps, fighting stray dogs, and attempting to eat bodies in a mortuary. Eventually, he was kicked out of a hospital after a 14-month-old child went missing, and he spent the rest of his life struggling with his condition until he died of tuberculosis.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. Tarrare was born in France around 1772 to a poor farming family.
2. Tarrare had an extremely voracious appetite and could eat a large quantity of food.
3. By his teens, Tarrare could eat an entire quarter of a cow carcass in a single day.
4. Despite eating so much, Tarrare only weighed 100 pounds by age 17.
5. Tarrare had a huge, stretched-out mouth with poorly stained teeth.
6. He could fit 12 eggs in his cheeks at once.
7. Tarrare's family kicked him out of the house due to his constant eating and financial strain.
8. Tarrare began begging and stealing to satisfy his appetite.
9. People began to notice Tarrare's abilities and he landed a job as a street performer in Paris.
10. Tarrare's act involved eating large quantities of food, including entire baskets of apples and eggs.
11. Tarrare suffered a severe intestinal blockage at one point, which required medical attention.
12. The military took notice of Tarrare's abilities and decided to use him for military purposes.
13. Tarrare was given quadruple rations, but still dug through trash piles for food.
14. The military conducted experiments on Tarrare, including feeding him a meal prepared for 15 people.
15. Tarrare was sent to the military hospital for further study and was eventually used as a spy.
16. Tarrare's mission involved swallowing a document and retrieving it later.
17. Tarrare was captured by the enemy and confessed to having vital intelligence in his stomach.
18. The Prussians chained Tarrare to a latrine until the note emerged 30 hours later.
19. Tarrare returned to the hospital, but his hunger continued to cause problems.
20. Tarrare snuck out of the hospital to eat scraps and fight stray dogs for food.
21. He also sought out patients undergoing bloodletting to drink their blood.
22. Tarrare attempted to eat bodies in the mortuary on several occasions.
23. A 14-month-old child went missing from the hospital, and Tarrare was suspected of eating it.
24. Tarrare was kicked out of the hospital and spent four years doing various activities.
25. Tarrare returned to the hospital with advanced tuberculosis and died shortly after.
26. During his autopsy, surgeons found that Tarrare's abdominal region was profoundly deformed.