Tarrare, The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Eating, Including Puppies And A Maybe Toddler
A very hungry Frenchman from the 18th century left behind a very mysterious and bizarre legacy
We’ve all had moments where we feel like we are so hungry that our appetite is insatiable. However, at some point after beginning to eat, our bodies finally inform us that we are full. A notable exception to this common human trait in history appears to be a mysterious 18th century Frenchman named Tarrare, who not only could never get full, he ate everything he could find, including possibly a baby.
Very little is known about Tarrare. This includes if that was even his real name. Born around 1772 in Lyon, France, he had a ravenous appetite even as a small child. By the time he reached his teen years, he was capable of eating a full quarter of a cow in one day; the size of which was roughly the same weight as him. Coming from a modest family, he was forced to leave when his food needs overwhelmed them.
Tarrare did about the only thing he could do to survive and have access to a large amount of sustenance. He joined a ragtag traveling gang of pickpockets and prostitutes that survived by begging and stealing.
