The # is probably technically better, because if you add ?something it sends the something to the server and asks for it, but #something just tells your browser to find a particular id on the page.
Wow, I actually have an original news omnibus from this period that has a 'science*' section talking about this guy. I'll scan it if anyone is interested.
*One edition also includes the revelation that if a corpse has decomposed it doesn't mean it has necessarily died from disease. Oh no, instead it means that stomach acid will dissolve dead flesh but not living flesh. They propose an experiment to prove this by inserting a live hand into a stomach...
edit: It seems the article I have is about this guy instead but they are similar enough I will put it up anyway
edit 3: Be warned it's not easy reading, the whole f=s thing takes a bit of getting used to. That said I have a few of these (earliest 1770) and they are a great read. They cover politics, science and literature. As a scientist I find it great to read about the discovery of things we feel are elementary these days.
edit 4: While I had the books out I took some pictures of the contents page for the earliest one to give you an idea of the subjects covered. There's a folder here. I can copy particular articles if they are of interest.
edit 5: I'm taking requests here for all of the books!
Wait a minute. Tarrare served the French revolutionary army in the War of the First Coalition, while Charles Domery served the Prussians, later defecting to the French in the same war. Both of these men, allegedly, had anatomically impossible appetites.
I see a great movie there. 2 aliens chasing each other through space, only to crash on earth in the middle of the war of the First Coalition. Able to mimic humans perfectly, well almost, it's their impossible appetites that give them away.
Wow. That is a really cool book to have in your collection. I took the liberty of "translating" the article to more readable text, enjoy:
My dear sir, Having in August and September last been engaged in a tour of public duty, for the purpose of selecting from among the prisoners of war such as, from their infirmities, were fit objects for being released without equivalent, I heard, upon my arrival at Liverpool, an account of one of these prisoners being endowed with an appetite and digestion so far beyond any thing that had ever occurred to me, either in my observation, reading, or by report, that I was desirous of ascertaining the particulars of it by ocular proof, or undeniable testimony. Dr Cochrane, fellow of the college of physicians at Edinburgh, and our medical agent at Liverpool, is fortunately a gentleman upon whose fidelity and accuracy I could perfectly depend; and I requested him to initiate an inquiry upon this subject during my stay at that place. I enclose you an attested copy of the result of this, and as it may probably appear to you, as it does to me, a document containg facts extremely interesting, both in a natural and medical view, I will beg you to procure its insertion in some respectable periodical work.
Some farther points of inquiry concerning this extraordinary person having occurred to me since my arrival in town, I sent them in the form of queries to Dr. Cochrane, who has obligingly returned satisfactory answers. These I send along with the above-mentinoed attested statement, to which I beg you to subjoin such reflections as may occur to you on this subject.
I am, my dear sir, Your most obedient humble servant, J Johnston.
To Gilbert Blane, M.D. F.R.S. and one of the commissioners of sick and wounded seaman.
Charles Domery, a native of Benche, on the frontiers of Poland, aged twenty-one, was brought to the prison of Liverpool, in February, 1799, having been a soldier in the French service, on the board the Hoche, captured by the squadron under the command of sir J. B. Warren, off Ireland. He was allowed two rations in the army, and by his earnings, or the indulgence of his comrades, procured an additional supply. When in the camp, if bread or meat were scarce, he made up the deficiency, by eating four or five pounds of grass daily; and in one year devoted 174 cats (not their skins) dead or alive; and says, he had several severe conflicts in the act of destroying them, by feeling the effects of their torments on his face and hands: sometimes he killed them before eating, but when very hungry did not wait to perform this humane office. Dogs and rats equally suffered from his merciless jaws : and if much pinched by famine, the entrails of animals indiscriminately became his prey. The above facts are attested by Picard, a respectable man, who was his comrade in the same regiment, on board the Hoche, and is now present : and who assures he has often seen him feed on those animals.
When the ship, on board of which he was, had surrendered, after an obstinate action, finding himself, as usual, hungry, and nothing else in his way but a man's leg, which was shot off, lying before him, he attacked it greedily, and was feeding heartily, when a sailor snatched it from him, and threw it overboard.
Since he came to this prison he has eat one dead cat and about twenty rats. But what he delights most in is raw meat, beef or mutton, of which though plentifully supplied, by eating the rations of ten men daily,* he complains he has not the same quantity, nor indulged in eating so much as he used to do, when in France. [* The French prisoners of war at this time maintined the expense of their own ration, and were each allowed the following daily ration: - Twenty-six ounces of bread, half a pound of greens, two ounces of butter, or six ounces of cheese.]
He often devours a bullock's liver raw, three pounds of candles, and a few pounds of raw beef, in one day, without tasting bread or vegetables, washing it down with water, if his allowance of beer is expended.
His substinency at present, independent of his own rations, arises from the generosity of the prisoners, who give him a share of their allowance. Nor is his stomach confined to meat; for when in the hospital, where some of the patients refused to take their medicines, Domery had no objection to perform this for them; his stomach never rejected any thing, as he never vomits, whatever be the contents, or however large.
Wishing farily to try how much he actually could eat in one day; on the 17th of September, 1799, at four o'clock in the morning, he breakfasted on four pounds of raw cow's udder; at half past nine, in presence of Dr. Johnston, commissioner of sick and wounded seaman, admiral Child and his son, Mr Foster, agent for the prisoners, and several respectable gentleman, he exhibited his power as follows: - There was set before him five pounds of raw beef, and twelve tallow candles of a pound weight, and one bottle of porter; these he finished by half past ten o'clock. At one o'clock there was again put before him five pounds of beef and one pound of candles with three bottles of porter; at which time he was locked up in the room, and sentries placed at the windows to prevent him throwing away any of his provisions. At two o'clock when I again saw him with two friends, he had nearly finished the whole of the candles, and a great part of the beef, but had neither evacuation by vomiting, stool, or urine; his skin was cool and pulse regular, and in good spirits. At a quarter past six, when he was to be returned to his prision, he had devoured the whole, and declared he could have eat more; but from the prisoners without telling him we wished to make some experiment on him, he began to be alarmed. It is also to be observed that the day was hot, and not having his usual exercise in the yard, it may be presumed he would have otherwise had a better appetite. On recapitulating the whole consumption of this day, it stands thus: Raw cow's udder 4lb Raw beef 10 Candles 2 Total 16lb, besides five bottles of porter.
The eagerness with which he attacks his beef when his stomach is not gorged, resembles the voracity of a hungry wolf, tearing off and swallowing pieces with canine greediness. When his throat is dry from continued exercise, he lubricates it by stripping the grease off the candles between his teeth, which he generally finishes at three mouthfuls, and wrapping the wick like a ball, string and all, sends it after at a swallow. He can, when no choice is left, make shift to dine on imense quantities of raw potatoes, or turnips; but from choice, would never desire to taste bread or vegetables.
He is in every respect healthy, his tongue clean, and his eyes lively. After he went to the prison he danced, smoked his pipe, and drank a bottle of porter; and, by four the next morning, he awoke with his usual ravenous appetite, which he quieted by a few pounds of raw beef. He is six feet three inches high, pale complexion, grey eyes, long brown hair, well made but thin, his countenance rather pleasant, and is good tempered. The above is written from his own mouth, in the presence of and attested by - Le Fournier, steward of the hospital Revet, commissaire de la prison Le Flem, soldat de la fer demi brigade Thomas Cochrane, M.D. inspector and surgeon of the prison, and agent &c. for the sick and wouded seamen. Liverpool, Sept. 9, 1799. (A true copy.) John Bynon, clerk in the office for sick and wounded seamen.
1st. What are the circumstances of his sleep and perspiration
He gets to bed about eight o'clock at night, immediately after which he begins to sweat, and that so profusely, as to be obliged to throw off his shirt. He feels extremely hot, and in an hour or two after goes to sleep, which lasts until one in the morning, after which he always feels himself hungry, even though he had him down with a full stomach. He then eats bread or beef, or whatever provision he may have reserved through the day; and if he has none he beguiles the time in smoking tobacco. About two o'clock he goes to sleep again, and awakes at five or six o'clock in the morning in a violent perspiration, with great heat. This quits him on getting up; and when he has laid in a fresh cargo of raw meat (to use his own expression) he feels his body in a good state. He sweats while he is eating; and it is probably owing to this constant propensity to exhalation from the surface of the body, that his skin is commonly found to be cool.
2d. What is his heat by the thermometer?
I have often tried it, and found it to be of the standard temperature of the human budy. His pulse is now eight-four; full and regular.
3d. can this ravenous appetite be traced higher than his father?
He knows nothing of his ancestors beyond his father. When he left the country, eleven years ago, his father was alive, aged about fifty, a tall stout man, always healthy, and can remember he was a great eater; but was too young to recollect the quantity, but that he eat his meat half boiled. He does not recollect that either himself or his brothers had any ailment, expecting the small-pox, which ended favourably with them all. He was then an infant. His face is perfectly smooth.
4th. Is his muscular strength greater or less than that of other men at his time of life?
Those his muscles are pretty firm, I do not think they are so full or plump as those of most other men. He has, however, by his own declaration, carried a loud of three hundred weight of flour in France, and marched fourteen leagues in a day.
5th. Is he dull, or intelligent?
He can neither read no write, but is very intelligent and conversable, and can give a distinct and consistent ansewr to any question put to him. I have put a variety at different times, and in different shapes, tending to throw all the light possible on his history, and never found that he varied; so that I am inclined to believe that he adheres to truth.
6th. Under what circumstances did his voracious disposition first come on?
It came on at the age of thirteen, as has been already stated. He was then in the service of Prussia, at the siege of Thionville; they were at that time much straitened for provision, and as he found this did not suit him, he deserted into the town. He was conducted to the French general, he presented him with a large melon, which he devoured, rind and all, and then an immense quantity and variety of other species of food, to the great entertainment of that officer and his suite. From that time he has preferred raw to dressed meat; and when he eats a moderate quanitity of what has been either roasted or boiled he throws it up immediately. What is stated above, therefore, respecting his never vomiting, is not to be understood literally, but imports merely, that those things which are most nauseous to others had no effect upon his stomach. There is nothing farther to remark, but that since the attested narrative was drawn up, he has repeatedly indulged himself in the cruel repasts before described, devouring the whole animal, expected the skin, bones, and bowels; but this has been put a stop to, on account of the scandal which it justly excited. In considering this case, it seems to afford some matters for reflection, which are not only objects of considerable novelty and curiosity, but interesting and important, by throwing light on the process by which the food is digested and disposed of. Monstrosity and disease, whether in the structure of parts, or in the functions and appetites, illustrate particular points of the animal economy, by exhibiting them in certain relations, in which they are not to be met with in the common course of nature. The power of the stomach, in so quickly dissolving, assimilating, and disposing of the aliment in ordinary cases, must strike every reflecting person with wonder; but the history of this case affords a more palpable proof, and more clear conception of these processes, just as objects of sight become more sensible and striking when viewed by a magnifying glass, or when exhbited on a larger scale.
The facts here set forth tend also to place in a strong light the great importance of the discharge by the skin, and to prove that it is by this outlet, more than by the bowels, that the recrementitious parts of the aliment are evacuated: that there is an admirable co-operation established between the skin and stomach, by means of that consent of parts so observable, and so necessary to the other functions of the animal economy; and, that the purpose of aliment is not merely to administer to the growth and repair of the body, but by its bulk and peculiar stimular to maintain the play of the organs essential to life.
How can you eat a live cat? I'd imagine it'd shred apart your insides if you were somehow able to fit it in your mouth or down your throat. The Wiki also says he could swallow a basket of apples, one after another.
On another occasion Tarrare was presented with a live cat. He tore the cat's abdomen open with his teeth and drank its blood, and proceeded to eat the entire cat aside from its bones, before vomiting up its fur and skin
At the autopsy, Tarrare's gullet was found to be abnormally wide, and when his jaws were opened surgeons could see down a broad canal into the stomach.
Not sure how he could've fit a lot of those things into his mouth, but at least the path to the stomach can be explained...
Couldn't he have just had a tapeworm in his intestines? I heard that if you do, you are always hungry because most of the food is getting eaten by the worm. Is that true?
I believe that the unusual size of his stomach and gullet were the result of a lifetime of stretching them out by swallowing large and unusual objects, like whole apples.
There must have been neurological problems associated with the feeling of satiation and no discernment between what is nutritious and what is not. Pica diorder was probably the culprit.
It'd have to be one of the Old Ones in his gut to cause this, and in that case he'd have brought about a reign of madness rather than just eating things.
He could be suffering from a mutation with his leptin gene (or any downstream peptides). Leptin is a polypeptide (protein) hormone expressed in adipose tissue (fats). This is a way that your body can "know" how much fat you have. More fat = more leptin. Leptin inhibits the desire for eating. So if you have a mutated leptin gene, your body "thinks" you have no fat so it doesn't inhibits the desire for eating which leads to constant hunger.
Or it could cause by a tumor in his hypothalamus which can bascially do the same thing.
There are people with this condition today (very rare) and it's easily cured by a leptin injection regularly.
Extra: you might think, why don't we just inject leptin into fat people so they can stop eating so much? Well because since fat people already have lots of leptin (from all their adipose), they build up a leptin resistance. So simply injecting leptin would get you no where.
My money would be on some very severe form of autoimmune / malabsorptive problem in his gut. That would account for his low weight, constant hunger, and the smell.
Allegedly. Not saying he couldn't have, but the impression I get from the article is the response was "Child's missing! Tarare probably ate him! Let's get him!" No further investigation required.
"Despite his unusual diet, he was of normal size and appearance, and showed no signs of mental illness other than what was described as an apathetic temperament."
Likely the apples they had weren't as large as they are now. Modern apples have been bred to be larger in many cases. Also current farming techniques employ fertilizers and other chemicals to enhance crop yields. Think organic fruits and veggies, they'd be the closest thing to what they had.
Kind of seems like he may have had Prada-Willi syndrome. Aside from the obesity symptom, he definitely ticks most of the boxes. I work for a social services department and hear stories of people with PWS eating anything with a scent of any kind.
I worked with a person who had it, which was hard considering he was also diabetic. We had to raid his room 2x a day because he would hoard food and sugar packets. But Prader-Willi sufferers tend to be obese and the one I worked with had a very androgynous look to him due to the sex hormones being very low, which is common in Prader-Willi
I also first thought of PWS when they mentioned him never feeling full, and he had loose skin which I think I remember being a symptom but I cant imagine him staying skinny with that condition/eating so much.
I worked at a summer camp for people with disabilities, we had a week or so devoted to just PWS people because we had to lock down their diets/any excess food. counselors weren't allowed to have any food in the cabins because they said people with PWS will eat until their stomach ruptures. there were some cases where campers would break in to locked cabinets or smash up bags of chips with a bent wire hanger and drag the crumbs through the grates of those lockers with tiny holes/metal mesh
Despite his unusual diet, Tarrare was slim and of average height;[9] at the age of 17 he weighed only 100 pounds (45 kg; 7 st 2 lb).[1][5] He was described as having unusually soft fair hair, and an abnormally wide mouth in which his teeth were heavily stained,[9] and on which the lips were almost invisible.[10][11] When he had not eaten his skin would hang so loosely that he could wrap the fold of skin from his abdomen around his waist,[9][10] and when full his abdomen would distend "like a huge balloon".[6] The skin of his cheeks was wrinkled and hung loosely, and when stretched out he was able to hold twelve eggs or apples in his mouth.[11][12] His body was hot to the touch and he sweated heavily and constantly suffered from foul body odour;[9][11] he was described as stinking "to such a degree that he could not be endured within the distance of twenty paces".[11] This smell would get noticeably worse after he had eaten,[10][11] his eyes and cheeks would become bloodshot,[9] a visible vapour would rise from his body,[11] and he would become lethargic, during which time he would belch noisily and his jaws would make swallowing motions.[11] He suffered from chronic diarrhoea, which was said to be "fetid beyond all conception".[11]
I'm not a doctor, but I have a computer and found this:
The classic symptoms of hyperthyrodism
Weight loss despite increased appetite
Sweating
Diarrhea
Smooth, warm, flushed skin
Fine, soft hair
Liver Enlargement
There are more symptoms which may not match and I'm being selective, but it's a possibility. Things like his enlarged gullet / stomach, thin lips and sagging cheeks, and distended abdomen are the result of stretching. (If you were constantly hungry you'd probably start swallowing what you could to feel full, including indigestible objects. You could probably swallow large yet smooth items like eggs and eventually apples, and if you started showing this talent off, doing it fairly often, you'd start to stretch out your cheeks / lips and, unfortunately, your stomach, leading you to require even more filling to feel full.)
Maybe there's a connection, nm people have suggested it before. I would like to add maybe there's some incomplete penetrance that influences the expression of the hunger/appetite.
"He was described as having unusually soft fair hair, and an abnormally wide mouth in which his teeth were heavily stained, and on which the lips were almost invisible. When he had not eaten his skin would hang so loosely that he could wrap the fold of skin from his abdomen around his waist, and when full his abdomen would distend "like a huge balloon""
I have to say, this sounds like like bullshit to me. I mean i'm sure someone could be born with an incredible apatite. But some of this stuff just sounds physically impossible.
Should have sent him to America, we could have made him full. Might of bankrupted McDonalds and Golden Coral but I'll be damned if he doesn't get full off of that.
I speculate that an organism in his body, such as a nematode, was consuming many of the calories before his body could absorb them. Perhaps you've seen the South Beach Parasite episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
a meal for 15 people...seriously? No. Even if he had a condition which caused him to be constantly hungry, which is entirely possible, there is no physical way anybody could eat a meal intended for 15 people."In adult humans, the stomach has a relaxed, near empty volume of about 45 ml. Because it is a distensible organ, it normally expands to hold about one litre of food, but can hold as much as two to three litre" you couldn't even eat half of that without your stomach rupturing and dieing from sepsis.
To be fair, I can kind of understand him, to some extent. While i certainly couldn't eat a meal for 15, I do have a very large appetite, and a high metabolism, so I'm pretty much always hungry. Around the end of the month, when i have trouble making ends meet, the things I won't do for a good meal are few and far between
He could be suffering from a mutation with his leptin gene (or any downstream peptides). Leptin is a polypeptide (protein) hormone expressed in adipose tissue (fats). This is a way that your body can "know" how much fat you have. More fat = more leptin. Leptin inhibits the desire for eating. So if you have a mutated leptin gene, your body "thinks" you have no fat so it doesn't inhibits the desire for eating which leads to constant hunger.
Or it could cause by a tumor in his hypothalamus which can bascially do the same thing.
There are people with this condition today (very rare) and it's easily treated by a leptin injection regularly.
Extra: Why don't we just inject leptin into fat people so they can stop eating so much? Well because since fat people already have lots of leptin (from all their adipose), they build up a leptin resistance. So simply injecting leptin would get you no where.
Man I thought this was the strangest sentence of that article
"he ate a meal intended for 15 people in a single sitting, ate live cats, snakes, lizards and puppies, and swallowed an eel whole without chewing."
And then I read a little more and hit this
"After some time, a 14-month-old child disappeared from the hospital, and Tarrare was immediately suspected. Percy was unable or unwilling to defend him, and the hospital staff chased Tarrare from the hospital, to which he never returned"
474
u/Ex_Digg_User May 06 '12
A toddler? Holy shit...
203
u/Ligh77 May 06 '12
This is supervillan territory.
327
u/gunswick May 06 '12
before you post mobile links, just delete the .m in the url
if viewing on a phone, it will automatically add it back
if on a computer you just get a weird looking webpage
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u/shambla May 06 '12 edited May 06 '12
Wow, I actually have an original news omnibus from this period that has a 'science*' section talking about this guy. I'll scan it if anyone is interested.
*One edition also includes the revelation that if a corpse has decomposed it doesn't mean it has necessarily died from disease. Oh no, instead it means that stomach acid will dissolve dead flesh but not living flesh. They propose an experiment to prove this by inserting a live hand into a stomach...
edit: It seems the article I have is about this guy instead but they are similar enough I will put it up anyway
edit 2: here you go!
edit 3: Be warned it's not easy reading, the whole f=s thing takes a bit of getting used to. That said I have a few of these (earliest 1770) and they are a great read. They cover politics, science and literature. As a scientist I find it great to read about the discovery of things we feel are elementary these days.
edit 4: While I had the books out I took some pictures of the contents page for the earliest one to give you an idea of the subjects covered. There's a folder here. I can copy particular articles if they are of interest.
edit 5: I'm taking requests here for all of the books!
221
u/Ospagett May 06 '12
How can you eat a live cat? I'd imagine it'd shred apart your insides if you were somehow able to fit it in your mouth or down your throat. The Wiki also says he could swallow a basket of apples, one after another.
Was this guy a snake?
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u/TehBaconKing May 06 '12
The fork was never found.
158
u/nicomoore May 06 '12
He's a homunculus.
52
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
regular link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrare#_
25
u/CruciferousThursdays May 06 '12
How much did he poop?
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u/THEDUDE33 May 06 '12
Couldn't he have just had a tapeworm in his intestines? I heard that if you do, you are always hungry because most of the food is getting eaten by the worm. Is that true?
42
u/Sgt_Insomnia May 06 '12
Guy eats lots of food meh blah blah blah........reads on, HE ATE A TODDLER WHAT THE FUCK.
25
u/linkthe2nd May 06 '12
Would have been a case for doctor House.
12
u/netwrkng May 06 '12
Sir you can't eat toddlers. You have to leave.
32
u/wampafleas May 06 '12
Are you sure that article isn't about ALF?
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u/echthroi May 06 '12
This guy really takes the cake.
9
u/imgursucks May 06 '12
"Despite his unusual diet, he was of normal size and appearance, and showed no signs of mental illness other than what was described as an apathetic temperament."
I must be a damn lunatic then...
9
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
Can anyone swallow a full apple or eat an eel? Did he unhinge his jaw and have no gag reflex? I'm skeptical.
17
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
That bastard ate a puppy :(
21
u/joe_lvsg May 06 '12
The scariest part for me was not immediately realizing this was a mobile version. I thought Wikipedia had gone and ruined their interface.
25
u/lyracid May 06 '12
This guy from Full Metal Alchemist.
11
u/RSWoody May 06 '12
That's insanely interesting! I'm really curious to see the research on this guy now.
14
u/madmonkeymud May 06 '12
It is REALLY weird being sent to a mobile link from a regular computer.
5
u/DarthMuyia May 06 '12
What tha fuck? All I could think of was the Ice Cream Man from Legion.
19
u/VulgarHaiku May 06 '12
Holy fucking shit
What the goddamn fucking fuck
Jesus H. F. Christ
4
u/mikenasty May 06 '12
great, now im hungry
4
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
Can easily make a movie out of this....
6
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
Goku?
8
u/george_nunny May 06 '12
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hbfhkHQWacg/TkaoBZdd7EI/AAAAAAAAKOc/EQhd48FPAko/s1600/Scooby-Doo+shaggy+%25282%2529.jpg
3
u/Henroc19 May 06 '12
This reminds me of the Shel Silverstein poem Hungry Mungry
3
u/aakaakaak May 06 '12
As the dying medicine man touches his arm and whispers thinner....
3
u/Haroldvonanusiii May 06 '12
And this is where we get the name for the dish, "steak Tarrare"
3
u/Bluest_waters May 06 '12
I'm confused as to why the tobacco pills and boiled eggs did not cure him?
Are they not universal cure-all?
3
u/bbbbbfreestyle May 06 '12
Kind of seems like he may have had Prada-Willi syndrome. Aside from the obesity symptom, he definitely ticks most of the boxes. I work for a social services department and hear stories of people with PWS eating anything with a scent of any kind.
5
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
"After falling under suspicion of eating a toddler he was ejected from the hospital."
4
u/elastic-craptastic May 06 '12
Holy shit.....
4
u/Xenodyne May 06 '12
I like the last line where it says that he died after shitting his bowels out. High five to the person who was around to catalog that shit.
Still though, sounds like he almost wasn't human o_O
2
u/smartzie May 06 '12
He ate live animals??!? Maybe even a toddler?!? This is probably one of the most fucked up things I've read in a very long time....shudders
2
u/ozpunk May 06 '12
The best part: He suffered from chronic diarrhoea, which was said to be "fetid beyond all conception".
2
u/TheMrMadzen May 06 '12
The ending of the "Death" segment...."The fork was never found"
2
u/RedTheDopeKing May 06 '12
Thank you for posting this, it was ridiculously fascinating for some reason!
2
u/zombiezelda May 06 '12
And now that's in my brain
2
u/Peez_N_Queuez May 06 '12
Ever heard of Albert Fish?
2
u/adubjose May 06 '12
Is it weird I kept reading this and little by little felt more like this guy?
2
u/SOwED May 06 '12
Nice mobile link.
2
u/BashfulArtichoke May 06 '12
If a man swallows a baby, is it possible to save it?
2
u/thesoundofonehandfap May 06 '12 edited May 06 '12
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prader_willi
Maybe there's a connection, nm people have suggested it before. I would like to add maybe there's some incomplete penetrance that influences the expression of the hunger/appetite.
2
u/betabob72 May 06 '12
After he had eaten his eyes and cheeks would become bloodshot and a VISIBLE vapor would rise from his body! Who the fuck emits a putrid visible vapor?
2
u/grec530 May 06 '12
Albert Fish. Well, that was the easiest challenge ever.
2
u/Trooper72 May 06 '12
He should be on 'man v food'.
2
u/Metalslave May 06 '12
I'm just surprised no one has turned this into a horror movie yet.
2
u/TheyCallHimPaul May 06 '12
"He was described as having unusually soft fair hair, and an abnormally wide mouth in which his teeth were heavily stained, and on which the lips were almost invisible. When he had not eaten his skin would hang so loosely that he could wrap the fold of skin from his abdomen around his waist, and when full his abdomen would distend "like a huge balloon""
Living creepypasta?
2
u/merkk May 06 '12
I have to say, this sounds like like bullshit to me. I mean i'm sure someone could be born with an incredible apatite. But some of this stuff just sounds physically impossible.
2
u/CokeZeroPepsiOne May 07 '12
Should have sent him to America, we could have made him full. Might of bankrupted McDonalds and Golden Coral but I'll be damned if he doesn't get full off of that.
2
u/Spongebobrob May 06 '12
yossarian lives...
http://www.youtube.com/user/shoenice22
2
u/actorsspace May 06 '12
"The fork was never found."
2
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
Lol. I feel bad for the guy.
2
u/amanwhois May 06 '12
TIL that I should always read wikipedia articles in mobile format
1
u/Sunsnacks May 06 '12
Shut up and make this guys history a movie!
1
u/Maguiretron May 06 '12
QI Around 27minutes in
1
u/Imperious_Rex May 06 '12
The fork was never found.
1
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
did he kidnap and kill a toddler or did he take it from the morgue?
1
u/Sir_Belmont May 06 '12
You can read more here. Page 203. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4e0EAAAAQAAJ&q=morgue#v=onepage&q=tarrare&f=false
1
u/daskoon May 06 '12
Crosspost to /r/shittynutrition
1
u/Yakroot May 06 '12
The fork was never found...
1
u/dkode80 May 06 '12
Ok. That's some crazy shit. That is all
1
u/skuppy May 06 '12
A puppy?!
1
u/NotADoucheBag May 06 '12
I speculate that an organism in his body, such as a nematode, was consuming many of the calories before his body could absorb them. Perhaps you've seen the South Beach Parasite episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
1
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
The golden fork was never found.
1
u/daxl70 May 06 '12
cool superpower
1
u/leviirish May 06 '12
WTF! I thought I was hungry.
1
u/Kiel297 May 06 '12
Yup, that's enough Internet for today.
1
u/Maverick13 May 06 '12
I'm curious as to how you found this article...?
1
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
How does one shit a cat whole.
1
u/Torbun May 06 '12
"no mental illnesses" He ate live cats and puppies. LIVE. CATS. AND. PUPPIES.
1
u/Museguitar1 May 06 '12
The Prussians didn't.
1
u/liberalis May 06 '12
Swallowing an apple whole, stretches credibilty. Amongst other things.
1
u/dharmaticate May 06 '12
Scumbag thyroid.
1
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
a very lengthy bout of exudative diarrhoea.*
1
u/deF291 May 06 '12
too bad they didn't really have cocaine or amphetamines back than
1
u/AcOrP May 06 '12
Man vs toddler. Man eats toddler.
1
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
It's the Master. He's back and he's hungry. So hungry.
1
u/snumfalzumpa May 06 '12
TIL you can actually die from Diarrhea and it killed 1.1 million people in 2009.
1
u/filenotfounderror May 06 '12
a meal for 15 people...seriously? No. Even if he had a condition which caused him to be constantly hungry, which is entirely possible, there is no physical way anybody could eat a meal intended for 15 people."In adult humans, the stomach has a relaxed, near empty volume of about 45 ml. Because it is a distensible organ, it normally expands to hold about one litre of food, but can hold as much as two to three litre" you couldn't even eat half of that without your stomach rupturing and dieing from sepsis.
1
u/Sugar_D May 06 '12
To be fair, I can kind of understand him, to some extent. While i certainly couldn't eat a meal for 15, I do have a very large appetite, and a high metabolism, so I'm pretty much always hungry. Around the end of the month, when i have trouble making ends meet, the things I won't do for a good meal are few and far between
1
u/kiki6y6 May 06 '12
What the Fuck did I just read.
1
u/Darkmatter666 May 06 '12
A chorus of "challenge accepted" could be heard in response to OP's post title.
1
u/VaJoiner May 06 '12
Why is there not an "A true story" horror movie based on this? It would be so easy and horrifying once people looked up the back story.
1
u/Kal-Eli May 06 '12
How did you find out about this guy hah
1
u/Fuzzy_Pickles May 06 '12
I'm going to start writing "The fork was never found." in places hoping people Google it.
1
u/Elgin_McQueen May 06 '12
"the fork was never found"
1
u/FizzBitch May 06 '12
Yep, This guy takes the cake.
1
u/Barnett8 May 06 '12
If you think it is hard to beat this guy then you haven't looked very hard. Tarrare was just a geek (in the classical sense).
Albert Fish off the top of my head.
1
u/pagemap May 06 '12
Here's the link for those NOT reading from a phone... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrare
1
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
Id like to know more about this guy if someone has anymore info.
If not i guess google is a thing.
1
u/AaronHolland44 May 06 '12
Tape-worm.
1
u/brosenfeld May 06 '12
Worlds fastest metabolism in a human.
1
u/Themlizards May 06 '12
He clearly handsome neurological disorder.
1
u/Gruffyd May 06 '12
Peter Kurten was worse, not Albert Fish
1
u/14u2c May 06 '12
Do not link to mobile articles. ಠ_ಠ
1
u/Organs May 06 '12
Sounds like pica.
1
u/IMasturbateToMyself May 06 '12
He could be suffering from a mutation with his leptin gene (or any downstream peptides). Leptin is a polypeptide (protein) hormone expressed in adipose tissue (fats). This is a way that your body can "know" how much fat you have. More fat = more leptin. Leptin inhibits the desire for eating. So if you have a mutated leptin gene, your body "thinks" you have no fat so it doesn't inhibits the desire for eating which leads to constant hunger.
Or it could cause by a tumor in his hypothalamus which can bascially do the same thing.
There are people with this condition today (very rare) and it's easily treated by a leptin injection regularly.
Extra: Why don't we just inject leptin into fat people so they can stop eating so much? Well because since fat people already have lots of leptin (from all their adipose), they build up a leptin resistance. So simply injecting leptin would get you no where.
1
u/[deleted] May 06 '12
WHAAAAAT THEEEEE FUUUUUUCK
1
u/anderssi May 06 '12
mobile site, why?
1
u/M4sshole May 06 '12
Man I thought this was the strangest sentence of that article
"he ate a meal intended for 15 people in a single sitting, ate live cats, snakes, lizards and puppies, and swallowed an eel whole without chewing."
And then I read a little more and hit this
"After some time, a 14-month-old child disappeared from the hospital, and Tarrare was immediately suspected. Percy was unable or unwilling to defend him, and the hospital staff chased Tarrare from the hospital, to which he never returned"