Real Life Superpowers: Tarrare - The Man Who Could Eat Anything

Back in France, Tarrare pleaded not to be used as a crap courier again and begged for medical treatment to make his eating habits more like his contemporaries. As you're probably already aware, medical science in the late 18th century didn't have a concrete answer as to how to cure a man with an appetite so voracious live animals served merely as appetisers, and, unsurprisingly, a concoction of tobacco and white wine vinegar did little to curb the Frenchman's hunger.

If anything, his eating problems only worsened after the military discharge, and when reports emerged of a missing 14-month-old child with all signs pointing to Tarrare, the novelty had kinda worn off for those around him as being a cannibal of children isn't exactly a glowing character trait. Who knew?

Exiled for his horrific acts, Tarrare wandered France.

Then, four years later, word spread that Tarrare had emerged in a Versailles hospital, and was dying from late-stage tuberculosis. Famed for his noisomeness in life, Tarrare progressed to a whole new level of stench in death, with his autopsy cancelled prior to completion as the physicians couldn't cope with the reek emanating from his innards.

Decidedly less interested in a PG description a physician described Tarrare's autopsy in graphic detail:

"The entrails were putrefied, confounded together, and immersed in pus; the liver was excessively large, void of consistence, and in a putrescent state; the gall-bladder was of considerable magnitude; the stomach, in a lax state, and having ulcerated patches dispersed about it, covered almost the whole of the abdominal region."

Though his death may not have been one of the more dignified passings in history, Tarrare's time on earth provides a fascinating tale of life as someone with almost superhuman powers, and how often they are exploited by others.