The Astonishing Story of Tarrare, the Man with an Insatiable Appetite
TLDR Tarrare, a Frenchman with an insatiable appetite, could eat his entire body weight in food in a single day. His condition led him to become a homeless vagrant, perform street acts, and eventually join the army where he was observed by doctors who conducted experiments on his insatiable appetite.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Tarrare was a Frenchman who could never feel full, and his insatiable appetite led to astonishing results.
01:57
Tarrare had an insatiable appetite and could eat his entire body weight in food in a single day, leading him to become a homeless vagrant and perform street acts where he would eat anything given to him.
03:44
Tarrare joined the army during the French Revolution and struggled to find enough food, leading to his lethargy and eventual observation by doctors who conducted experiments on his insatiable appetite.
05:26
Tarrare had an insatiable appetite and was able to consume live animals, such as cats and puppies, and had an extremely large mouth and sagging skin due to his excessive eating.
07:18
Tarrare was given the task of serving as a courier for secret messages, but his mission failed when he was captured and immediately revealed everything to the Germans.
09:05
Tarrare's insatiable appetite led him to eat waste, fight with dogs for dead animals, drink blood from patients, consume cadavers, and ultimately be suspected of kidnapping a baby, leading to his eviction from the hospital, and although his cause of death was initially believed to be tuberculosis, an autopsy revealed his abnormally wide gullet, enormous stomach, enlarged liver and gallbladder, and the presence of pus and ulcers, making him a unique medical case.
10:48
Tarrare's condition, which caused his insatiable appetite and physical abnormalities, is believed to have been related to his thyroid, hypothalamus, or amygdala, and he remains the only person who could actually eat a horse if he claimed to be that hungry.