anatomicdeadspace: Charles Domery was a prussian and french soldier who became renowned for his unea
anatomicdeadspace: Charles Domery was a prussian and french soldier who became renowned for his unearthly appetite. He is reported to have eaten 174 cats over the course of a year, and was known to consume up to 2.3kg of grass if no other food was available to him. During one instance during his military service he was observed to attempt to eat the severed leg of one of his fellow soldiers while they were at sea, however another member of the crew wrestled it from him and threw it into the ocean.Unlike his contemporary Tarrare (who also had an exceptional appetite), Domery had an entirely normal physical appearance, he was noted to be polite, pleasant, of average weight and height. The only notable thing about his physicality was a tendency to be prone to profuse sweating while sleeping and when eating large amounts of food. He was also noted to never vomit, no matter the volume of what he had consumed.While serving as a soldier he was captured by the british who conducted experiments on him to test the extent of his appetite and his ability to consume unusual food. He was fed raw cows udder, 4.6 kg of raw beef and 12 candles - a long with several large bottles of Porter. During this time he did not urinate, defecate or vomit.Dr Johnston of the Royal Navy noted: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 it 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 immense quantities of raw potatoes or turnips; but, from choice, would never desire to taste bread or vegetables.It is not known what caused Dormery’s excessive appetite and ability to tolerate bizarre and extreme amounts of food. It is theorised that he perhaps had sustained injuries to his amygdala or ventromedial nucleus, which has been shown to cause polyphagia in animal research. -- source link