Something True 2.6: L'Arme X
Summary
This episode of Something True recounts the bizarre life of Terer, an 18th-century Frenchman with an insatiable appetite for non-food items. After serving as a street performer and soldier, he was recruited by the French army to swallow secret messages during the war against Prussia. The story details his failed espionage mission, subsequent torture, and eventual death, highlighting the medical mysteries surrounding his condition.
Topics discussed
Intro: The man who ate a snake and wine corks
Podcast introduction and episode title
Terer's insatiable hunger and street performing
Joining the army and constant starvation
Medical examination by Dr. Corville and Baron Percy
Weaponizing Terer as a spy who eats messages
The failed spy mission and capture by Prussians
Interrogation and the retrieval of the test message
Failed treatments and the missing child accusation
Terer's flight, death, and autopsy, and legacy
Outro and podcast credits and closing remarks
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