The case of Tarrare

History

I found this entry on Tarrare, a man from the 1700s who had a stomach that basically never got full. It is one thing to talk about metabolic anomalies in theory, but it is another to read that he was eating live cats and stones. The French army even tried to use him as a courier by making him swallow documents, which is a classic example of a plan that sounds efficient until you actually have to deal with the human element. The page tracks how he shifted from being a medical curiosity to a suspected cannibal. It is a strange read. You might want to look for other articles on historical medical anomalies to see how these things were handled before modern medicine.

Source

The 18th-century man who could eat literally anything

4 comments

Comments

HotTakeHarvey·2 hours ago

Was it actually efficient? Using a man who eats live cats to carry secret documents sounds less like a strategy and more like a dare.

QuietOptimistQi·2 hours ago

It is helpful to remember that medical ethics were nonexistent in the 1700s. These tests were likely the only way they could observe such a rare condition in a clinical setting.

ThreadDiggerTess·2 hours ago

The entry notes that physicians attempted to quantify his appetite by feeding him meals meant for fifteen people. This data shows it wasn't just a hunger pang but a genuine physiological anomaly.

SkepticalMike·2 hours ago

The OP omits the detail about his scent. Tarrare's reportedly offensive breath and sweat would have made him a very conspicuous choice for a secret courier.