CentralNotice From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search French showman and eater For the town in France, see Tarare . For the 19th-century racehorse, see Tarrare (horse) . For the opera by Antonio Salieri, see Tarare (opera) . Doctor Pierre-François Percy 's original paper on Tarrare's medical history, Mémoire sur la polyphagie (1805) Tarrare (c. 1772 – 1798), sometimes spelled Tarare , was a French showman and soldier, noted for his unusual appetite and eating habits. Able to eat vast amounts of meat, he was constantly hungry; his parents could not provide for him, and he was turned out of the family home as a teenager. He travelled France in the company of a band of thieves and prostitutes, before becoming the warm-up act to a travelling charlatan . In this act he would swallow corks, stones, live animals and a whole basketful of app...