The Story of Charles Domery, Known for Eating Everything in Sight

Throughout history, many individuals have been known for pushing the boundaries of ideas. One such person is Charles Domery, a Polish-born soldier who served in the Prussian and French armies. Domery became famous for his insatiable hunger.

Source: https://allthatsinteresting.com/charles-domery

Charles Domery was born in 1778 to a Polish family with nine male children.

Despite his extraordinary appetite, Charles was born a healthy child. His height and weight were average. At the age of 13, he joined the Prussian army, fighting in the War of the First Coalition.

Due to food shortages in the Prussian army, Charles Domery switched sides and began fighting for the French.

However, even after using his own money to buy extra food, Domery remained hungry. No matter how much he ate, he always felt hungry, leading to an unconventional diet.

This situation resulted in something unpredictable. Charles began eating several pounds of grass and cats almost every day.

Domery enjoyed eating raw meat, with beef liver among his favorites. However, he was ready to go even further. After a fellow crew member's leg was severed by a cannonball, Charles tried to eat the leg. Other soldiers threw the severed leg into the sea to prevent Charles from eating it.

Despite eating everything, Charles never got sick. According to rumors, he never vomited after eating.

In February 1799, British forces captured Charles Domery's ship. Shortly after, Domery and his crew were imprisoned in a camp near Liverpool.

During his captivity, Charles continued to shock his captors with his insatiable appetite and surprising food choices. When the camp food was not enough, he ate spare candles, 20 rats, and the prison cat.

When the British army heard of this, they doubled Charles's rations, but no matter how much they increased it, it was never enough for him.

This matter caught the attention of a commander responsible for war prisoners. As a result, Charles became the subject of medical experiments. He was woken up at four in the morning and fed four kilograms of cow udders. Shortly after, he ate five kilograms of raw beef and a dozen candles. At noon, he ate more raw meat and candles.

All the medical experiment staff were amazed. Perhaps the most shocking thing was that despite Domery's incredible hunger, he was good-natured.

Unfortunately, it is unknown what happened to Domery after this experiment... The medical mystery of why he felt the need to eat so much remains unsolved.