Tarrare, an 18th-century French soldier and showman, was afflicted by an insatiable hunger, a condition known as polyphagia. Born around 1772, he consumed unimaginable quantities of food and non-food items alike. His bizarre case, documented by contemporary military surgeons, offers insight into his unique physiology. This article explores the historical accounts of Tarrare’s life, the attempts by doctors to understand him, and the modern medical theories that seek to explain his existence.
The Life and Insatiable Appetite of Tarrare
Tarrare’s life was defined by a hunger that began in childhood, forcing his family to expel him from their home near Lyon as a teenager because they could no longer afford to feed him. By his own account, he could consume a quarter of a bullock, an amount equal to his own body weight, in a single day. Despite this massive caloric intake, he remained slender, reportedly weighing only about 100 pounds at age 17, indicating an extremely high metabolic rate or severe malabsorption.
To survive, he turned to a life of vagrancy and eventually became a traveling performer, capitalizing on his ability to eat almost anything. His stage act involved swallowing stones, corks, apples, and even live animals like cats, which he would disembowel and consume whole. When his stomach was empty, his skin was noticeably loose and flabby, particularly around his abdomen. He could wrap the folds of skin around his waist like a belt.
His physical symptoms extended beyond his stomach’s capacity. He constantly exuded a noticeable body odor that worsened significantly after he ate, and he was perpetually hot and covered in sweat, from which a visible vapor was said to arise. This combination of constant hunger, excessive consumption, and lack of weight gain made him a subject of fascination. His desperate search for food continued even after he joined the French Revolutionary Army, where he was granted quadruple rations, yet still scavenged for scraps in gutters and garbage heaps.
18th-Century Medical Investigations
Tarrare’s condition came under the scrutiny of military surgeons after he was admitted to the hospital at Soultz-sous-Forêts for exhaustion. Dr. Courville and Chief Surgeon Dr. Pierre-François Percy were determined to study his physiology. They documented his ability to consume a meal prepared for 15 laborers, which included two large meat pies, plates of grease, and four gallons of milk, which he reportedly finished in a single sitting before falling into a drowsy stupor.
The doctors also observed his disturbing habit of consuming non-traditional food sources, noting his willingness to eat poultices from the apothecary’s room. Attempts to control his diet with soft-boiled eggs, wine vinegar, and even opiate-based laudanum proved entirely unsuccessful. Despite the extreme nature of his behavior, Dr. Percy maintained that Tarrare was not mentally ill, but rather afflicted by a profound physical ailment.
His digestive prowess was tested for military purposes when he was tasked with swallowing a wooden box containing a document. The box was later recovered intact from his excrement, leading to a brief, unsuccessful attempt to use him as a military courier. During his time at the hospital, his desperation led to increasingly disturbing acts, including drinking the blood of patients undergoing bloodletting and sneaking into the morgue to consume corpses.
Modern Hypotheses on Tarrare’s Condition
While 18th-century medicine could not provide a definitive diagnosis, modern specialists have proposed several plausible theories to explain Tarrare’s extreme polyphagia. He may have suffered from severe hyperthyroidism, possibly Graves’ disease, which would account for his rapid metabolism, constant sweating, and inability to gain weight despite massive calorie intake. An overactive thyroid gland accelerates the body’s processes, leading to an almost insatiable energy demand.
Another theory focuses on potential damage to the brain, specifically the hypothalamus, which acts as the body’s central regulator for hunger and satiety. A lesion or trauma to this area could have damaged the neural pathways responsible for signaling “fullness,” leaving him in a perpetual state of hunger. This neurological damage might also explain the apathy and lack of typical mental illness observed by Dr. Percy.
A third explanation suggests a combination of a congenital defect and parasites. His abnormally large stomach and gullet, noted after his death, may have been a birth defect that allowed him to ingest huge volumes of food without feeling satiated. His habit of eating raw or putrid meat and offal suggests he hosted intestinal parasites, such as hookworms or tapeworms. These parasites would have consumed a significant portion of his nutrients, contributing to his chronic hunger and low body weight.
Tarrare’s Death and Autopsy Findings
Tarrare’s medical career ended abruptly after he was accused of consuming a missing 14-month-old child, an event that led to his expulsion from the hospital in 1794. He reappeared four years later in Versailles, severely ill, suffering from continuous, foul-smelling diarrhea. Dr. Percy attended to him, recognizing that he had developed advanced tuberculosis, a disease that was likely exacerbated by his extreme lifestyle and poor diet.
He died shortly after, in 1798, at the age of 26. A physician named Tessier performed the autopsy, though the procedure was difficult due to the rapid decomposition and overpowering stench of his body. The examination confirmed several anatomical abnormalities, including an abnormally wide gullet and an enormous stomach that filled most of his abdominal cavity. His liver and gallbladder were also found to be unusually large, and his internal organs were riddled with pus and ulcers, suggesting severe infection and abscesses.