Part of the great thrill of exploration is the unknown, and among the many 10 suspected cases that have captured imaginations, the risk of being devoured by cannibals looms large. Risk and reward must be weighed on every venture; ships may sink, disease may spread, and quicksand may swallow the unwary, yet the lure of new knowledge and a place in history drives explorers onward.

10 Suspected Cases of Cannibalism Among Explorers

10 German Explorer Killed On Polynesian Goat Hunt

German-born Stefan Ramin and his partner Heike Dorsch were seasoned travelers who set sail around the globe, arriving at the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia on August 30, 2011. Enchanted by the islands, they lingered twice as long as planned. During this extended stay, Ramin arranged for a local, Arihano Haiti, to guide him on a traditional goat hunt.

The two men left Dorsch alone for several hours. When the dinghy returned, only Haiti was aboard. He claimed an accident had occurred in the forest, saying Ramin was badly injured and needed urgent assistance. Upon reaching the site, Haiti brandished a shotgun, telling Dorsch, “You die now.” A struggle ensued, and Haiti shifted tactics, assaulting Dorsch sexually before binding her to a tree, where she endured hours of torment.

Dorsch eventually broke free, spotting Haiti’s flashlight in the distance and sprinting to the shoreline. She clambered onto a fellow traveler’s boat, escaping with her life. Police later discovered Ramin’s remains among campfire ashes, confirming Haiti’s murder. The case sparked sensational media speculation about cannibalism, prompting outrage among French Polynesians who felt the coverage reinforced harmful stereotypes.

9 The Blanche Bay Massacre

In 1878, Methodist Reverend George Brown dispatched four Fijian missionaries to Papua New Guinea. Their mission balanced the delicate act of conversion against the possibility of severe cultural insult. The Tolai tribe, however, appeared unimpressed by the missionaries’ overtures.

The missionaries were slain and eaten at the behest of tribal leader Taleli. Brown, apparently forgetting Christian pacifism, retaliated by burning an entire village linked to the murders, killing at least ten people. British colonial authorities later cleared Brown of any wrongdoing.

Brown later boasted, “The natives respect us more than they did, and as they all acknowledge the justice of our cause they bear us no ill will.” Contemporary newspaper commentary warned that missionary endeavors could spark wars of extermination, suggesting withdrawal might be wiser. In 2007, the Tolai tribe, having abandoned cannibalism, issued a formal apology for the killings.

8 Andrei Kurochkin’s Siberian Fishing Trip

In 2012, Andrei Kurochkin and three companions embarked on a Siberian taiga fishing expedition. Their jeep and supplies sank into a river, turning a few‑week trip into a grueling four‑month ordeal. Kurochkin perished during this period, and one other participant remains missing.

Survivors Alexei Gorulenko and Aleksandr Abdullaev were rescued, and Kurochkin’s remains were discovered, showing clear signs of butchery. Gorulenko altered his story, claiming Kurochkin died from a leg injury before the group resorted to cannibalism for survival, hacking off flesh as they trekked to safety. Abdullaev faced no charges, while Gorulenko was initially tried for murder but escaped prison, later receiving a 12‑year sentence after the Russian Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision.

Kurochkin’s widow expressed horror, lamenting the remnants of her husband: “One foot with toes, one finger, and the back of his skull with some hair. This is all I have left from the man I loved.” The case underscores the brutal decisions forced by extreme isolation.

7 Giovanni Da Verrazzano’s Final Voyage To The New World

Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer active in the early 1500s, first impressed King Francis I of France after ventures in North Africa. Commissioned for New World expeditions, he sought a clear passage to the Pacific and lucrative Asian trade routes.

His early voyages charted Maine, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. On a third trip, he reached Brazil, returning to France laden with exotic timber. In 1528, Verrazzano launched his final sea journey, again heading toward the Americas. He landed in Florida before sailing south into the Caribbean.

Near Guadeloupe, Verrazzano reportedly launched a rowboat toward an island, where his crew observed from afar as he was killed and allegedly eaten by the island’s inhabitants. Some historians doubt the cannibalism claim, suggesting instead that Verrazzano may have been a French pirate named Jean Florentine, captured and hanged by the Spanish. The story remains contested.

6 Thomas Baker And Seven Of His Followers Are Eaten By The Villagers Of Nabutautau

Fiji, historically dubbed “the Cannibal Isles,” saw Methodist Reverend Thomas Baker arrive in 1859. He survived until July 1867, when he ventured deep into Viti Levu to attempt converting a local chief.

Legend says Baker offered the chief a comb as a peace‑making gift. When the chief rejected the gospel, Baker reclaimed the comb, inadvertently touching the chief’s head—a grave insult in local custom. Whether this incident truly occurred is uncertain; tensions likely stemmed from broader distrust of sanctimonious outsiders.

Regardless, Baker and seven of his followers were slain and consumed by the Nabutautau villagers. The tribe later believed the act invoked a curse, prompting a 2003 visit by eleven of Baker’s descendants. A formal apology and a curse‑lifting ritual were performed, marking a reconciliation.

5 Richard Parker Is Killed And Eaten Out Of ‘Necessity’

In 1884, four men set sail from Southampton in a yacht bound for Australia. Two months into the voyage, a rogue wave capsized the vessel, leaving the crew adrift in a dinghy with only two tins of turnips, rationed over twelve days.

When supplies ran out, the 17‑year‑old cabin boy Richard Parker, having drunk seawater, grew gravely ill. Captain Thomas Dudley, noting their familial obligations, told crew member Edwin Stephens, “The boy is dying… Human flesh has been eaten before.” Parker was then pinned down while Dudley thrust a penknife into his throat. The trio drank Parker’s blood and ate his liver and heart, setting aside chunks for later consumption before discarding the rest overboard.

Rescued later, Dudley openly admitted the act, arguing it was a desperate necessity. Most of England sympathized, even shaking hands with the men during their trial. Nonetheless, they were found guilty of murder, sentenced to death, then reduced to six months’ imprisonment. The fourth sailor, who participated in the cannibalism but not the murder, escaped charges.

4 Oliver Fellows Tomkins And James Chalmers Keep Promise To Visit Cannibal Islanders

Congregationalist missionaries Oliver Fellows Tomkins and James Chalmers operated in Papua New Guinea, with Chalmers having spent 23 years there and Tomkins just over a year. In 1901, both men attempted to spread the Christian gospel to the Goaribari Island inhabitants, traveling along the Aird River.

Tomkins recorded a harrowing encounter: a short service aboard the ship was interrupted by the sight of twenty canoes approaching. The canoes lingered for three hours, inspecting everything from rigging to buttons, urging the men to come ashore. The missionaries declined, promising to visit the village the following morning.

True to their word, Tomkins, Chalmers, and several crew members went ashore the next day, where they were slain and eaten. Their bones were later displayed by the islanders, cementing a grim legacy.

3 Owen Coffin And His Crewmates Eat Each Other After Whale Attack

Seventeen‑year‑old Owen Coffin served aboard the whaling ship Essex, which embarked on a sperm‑whale hunt in the Pacific. In November 1820, a massive whale struck the Essex twice, sinking it. Crew member Owen Chase vividly described the second blow, noting the whale’s ferocious tail and half‑emerged head.

The survivors escaped in three small boats, rationing the bodies of deceased crewmates. After more than two months adrift, the men on Coffin’s boat drew lots to decide who would be sacrificed for sustenance. Coffin drew the short straw; when his cousin, the ship’s captain, offered to take his place, Coffin allegedly replied, “No, I like my lot as well as any other.”

The boat was eventually rescued on the South American coast on February 23, 1822, after 92 days at sea. The harrowing ordeal inspired Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby‑Dick.

2 John Williams’s Poorly Timed Visit To Erromango

John Williams, a prolific missionary with over two decades of experience in the South Pacific, met his end in 1839 while exploring Vanuatu (then the New Hebrides). Alongside fellow missionary James Harris, Williams arrived on Erromango island shortly after European sandalwood traders had violently clashed with locals.

The recent violence painted Williams and Harris as threats. Harris was clubbed to death, and Williams fled toward the sea before being clubbed and shot with arrows. Their bodies were subsequently consumed by the islanders.

In 2009, Williams’s descendants visited the murder site, and, echoing the earlier reconciliation with the Nabutautau tribe, the Erromango people performed a ceremony to lift a perceived curse, seeking closure for both sides.

1 The Lost Franklin Expedition

In 1845, Sir John Franklin set sail with the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, aiming to navigate the final uncharted stretch of the Northwest Passage in the Arctic. The expedition began with 134 men, reduced to 129 after five were discharged in Greenland.

The ships vanished, prompting numerous rescue attempts. No survivors were found; all 129 crew members eventually perished. Lady Franklin, John’s wife, funded a series of searches, the last being the 1857 steam schooner Fox, which uncovered letters indicating Franklin’s death in April 1848.

In 1992, archaeologists discovered 400 bone fragments on King William Island, bearing cut marks consistent with defleshing. The wreck of HMS Erebus was located in 2014, followed by HMS Terror in 2016, finally solving the mystery of the lost expedition.

David is a freelance writer and windowlicker. You can read more of his writing @ CultureRoast.com and check out his videos @ YouTube.com/CultureRoast.

If you’ve ever wondered what a banquet in the thirteenth‑century court tasted like, you’re in for a treat. Below we dive into 10 medieval recipes that once graced the tables of kings and are now fully doable in a contemporary kitchen. From earthy mushroom broths to sweet almond‑infused rice pudding, each dish is explained in a lively, bite‑sized way that keeps the historic flavor while staying totally kitchen‑friendly.

10 Funges

This entry, listed as No. 10 in the venerable The Forme of Cury, calls for simply sliced mushrooms—known in the period as “funges”—combined with leeks, all dropped into a gentle broth and brightened with a pinch of saffron. The preparation is straightforward enough that even a novice can pull it off without a royal kitchen staff.

What makes the recipe intriguing is the addition of a mysterious spice blend called “powder fort.” Medieval cooks used this mixture much like today’s garam masala, typically blending pepper with either ginger or cinnamon. It gave dishes a warm, aromatic kick that lingered on the palate.

Because the dish was intended for the king’s table, chefs likely enriched the basic blend with extra aromatics such as cloves or even a touch more saffron, turning a humble mushroom stew into a regal delicacy. For a home‑friendly version, try mixing one ounce each of cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper, plus a quarter ounce of saffron and a modest pinch of ground cloves.

Back then, pepper reigned supreme among spices, followed closely by cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. While mushrooms were abundant and cheap across medieval England, the addition of exotic spices kept this recipe out of reach for most common folk, preserving its status as a courtly treat.

9 Cormarye

When a monarch wanted to dazzle visiting dignitaries, nothing said “impress me” like a massive slab of pork steeped in a luxurious red‑wine sauce. Known as Cormarye and catalogued as Recipe No. 53 in The Forme of Cury, this preparation centered on a pork loin joint bathed in a reduction of red wine, pepper, garlic, coriander, caraway, and salt. The meat was roasted in this aromatic bath, then the pan juices were incorporated into a richer broth for serving.

The inclusion of coriander and caraway—spices that traveled great distances and fetched high prices—underscores how costly this dish was, even by today’s standards. The result was a succulent, fragrant centerpiece that embodied the opulence of a royal feast.

8 Toastie

Believe it or not, the medieval cookbook of Richard II includes a recipe for a “toastie,” though it bears little resemblance to the modern grilled sandwich. Listed as No. 93 in The Forme of Cury, this preparation is essentially a sweet‑spiced jam spread for toasted bread.

To assemble it, you simmer red wine together with honey, then stir in ground ginger, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Cook the mixture until it thickens into a glossy glaze, spoon it over crisp toast, and finish with freshly chopped ginger sprinkled on top for a bright, peppery note.

7 Payn Ragoun

If you’ve ever imagined medieval confectionery, Payn Ragoun offers a perfect glimpse. This sweet treat, essentially a medieval fudge, was traditionally served alongside meat or fish rather than as a stand‑alone dessert.

To craft it, combine honey, sugar, and water in a pot, simmer gently, then fold in ground ginger. The medieval instructions even tell the cook to dip a finger into the mixture—if the liquid hangs from the fingertip, it’s ready. Add toasted pine nuts, stir until the blend thickens, then pour the mass into a mold and allow it to harden.

The resulting candy boasts a dense, caramel‑like texture with a subtle ginger heat, delivering a flavor profile that would surprise any modern palate used to industrial sweets.

6 Poached Eggs

Poaching eggs—referred to as “pochee” in the original manuscript—was a technique virtually identical to today’s method. The recipe instructs cooks to “take ayrenn and breke hem in scaldyng hoot water,” which simply means cracking the eggs into bubbling water.

Unlike contemporary breakfast servings, these poached eggs were prepared in bulk for grand banquets and presented on a platter with a velvety sauce. The sauce calls for two egg yolks whisked with sugar, saffron, ginger, and a pinch of salt, then blended with milk and gently cooked until it thickens without boiling.

Served alongside the poached eggs, this sweet‑savory sauce added a luxurious richness that complemented the delicate texture of the eggs, making it a fitting addition to a royal spread.

5 Verde Sawse

Today we love salsa verde for its bright herbs and tang, and Richard II was no different. Recipe No. 140 in The Forme of Cury details a medieval version of this green sauce, blending parsley, mint, garlic, thyme, sage, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, wine, breadcrumbs, vinegar, and salt.

The mixture is simply combined and served as‑is, offering a herbaceous, slightly spiced accompaniment that could brighten any meat or fish dish on the royal table.

4 Crepes

Crepes enjoyed a respectable reputation in the medieval era, appearing in Chaucer’s tales as “crips” and recorded in Recipe No. 162 of The Forme of Cury under the name “cryspes.” While French versions from 1393 resemble today’s thin pancakes, English adaptations leaned toward a dough of flour and egg whites, later rolled in sugar after cooling.

The final product was more akin to a lightly sweetened doughnut or powdered cake, offering a delicate, melt‑in‑your‑mouth texture that could be enjoyed as a dessert or a sweet snack between meals.

3 Compost

Recipe No. 100, aptly named “compost,” was essentially a medieval one‑pot wonder—a hearty medley of vegetables simmered together with a lavish sauce. The base called for diced parsley roots, carrots, parsnips, turnips, radishes, cabbage, and pears, all boiled until tender.

After draining, the vegetables were seasoned with salt, then tossed with pepper, saffron, and vinegar. A separate pot boiled wine and honey, which was later enriched with currants and a bouquet of spices before being poured over the vegetable mixture, creating a sweet‑savory harmony.

This dish represented the closest the royal kitchen got to peasant fare, albeit elevated by the inclusion of exotic spices and a rich, aromatic sauce that turned humble roots into a regal centerpiece.

2 Payn Fondew

What we now recognize as bread pudding traces its lineage back to the medieval “payn fondew,” listed as Recipe No. 59. This early version began by frying stale bread in grease, then whisking egg whites with red wine to create a fragrant custard.

To the custard, cooks added raisins, honey, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, simmering until the mixture thickened. The fried bread was then broken into pieces, folded into the syrup, and left to soak, absorbing the sweet, spiced liquid.

Before serving, the pudding was dusted with coriander and a sprinkling of sugar, delivering a sweet‑savory treat that proves our modern cravings for sugar have deep historical roots.

1 Almond Milk Rice

Almonds held a special place in medieval gastronomy, featuring prominently in many dishes from The Forme of Cury. The top‑ranked recipe, often dubbed “almond milk rice,” combined exotic rice—imported from distant lands—with silky almond milk, creating a fragrant, creamy pudding reserved for the wealthiest of households.

To recreate it, cook the rice until tender, drain, then return it to a saucepan. Cover the grains with almond milk, simmer gently, and sweeten with honey and sugar. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens into a luscious, velvety consistency, delivering a dessert that feels both ancient and timeless.

Why 10 Medieval Recipes Still Matter Today

Exploring these ten historic dishes not only satisfies a culinary curiosity but also connects us to the flavors, techniques, and cultural exchanges that shaped medieval Europe. By trying them at home, you get a taste of the past while enjoying the comfort of familiar ingredients.

When it comes to the art of devouring the impossible, the top ten craziest performances push the boundaries of what a human stomach can handle. While most of us balk at a stray piece of gum, these daring individuals turned eating into a jaw‑dropping spectacle.

Top Ten Craziest Eating Feats in History

10 A Bible, a Torah, and a Quran

Although this piece leans more toward provocative art than a mere stunt, Abel Azcona’s infamous act of consuming three sacred texts stands as a monumental test of stamina. In his work titled “Eating” (or “La Ingesta” in Spanish) he methodically ingested a Bible, a Torah and a Quran, staging the performance once in Berlin in 2012 and again in Copenhagen in 2013. Each rendition stretched across roughly nine hours, punctuated by brief intermissions, and unfolded over several days.

The act was far from a simple culinary curiosity; it served as a biting critique of religious fundamentalism and inevitably attracted fierce backlash. The very venue that hosted Azcona’s performance later became the scene of tragedy in 2015, when the Krudttønden Museum in Copenhagen was attacked by Omar Abdel Hamid El‑Hussein. Two patrons were shot dead and several others wounded during an event featuring the controversial cartoonist Lars Vilks.

9 A Car

Born in Greece in 1934, Leon Samson carved a niche as a sideshow strongman who toured Queensland, Australia. His résumé boasts feats such as swallowing 22,000 razor blades over a decade, halving three one‑inch steel bars, and even allowing a car to roll over his body. In 1969 a wealthy businessman from Darwin wagered A$30,000 that Samson could not consume an entire four‑seater automobile.

Samson accepted the challenge and, over a four‑year span, methodically shredded and ingested roughly a pound and a half of the vehicle. By cutting the car into bite‑sized fragments he avoided having to chew raw metal, yet he ultimately succeeded in digesting enough to claim the prize. He later relocated to the United States, leaving the remainder of the car behind, but his victory was already cemented in sideshow lore.

8 Live Eels and Snakes

Perhaps the most legendary consumer of the bizarre was the 18th‑century French oddity Tarrare, a performer, soldier, spy and, according to some accounts, a potential cannibal. He possessed a prodigious appetite that let him ingest more than his own body weight in food while somehow maintaining a frail 100‑pound frame.

Little is documented about his early life, but it is believed he was expelled from his family home in Lyon because his parents could not afford to feed his insatiable hunger. By the age of thirteen he allegedly devoured a quarter of a bullock—roughly a hundred pounds of meat—yet remained visibly undernourished. He survived by begging and pilfering, eventually drifting to Paris in 1788 where he encountered Dr Baron Percy.

Under Percy’s observation, Tarrare displayed his uncanny capacities: he swallowed corks, flints, a pocket watch, and even a whole bushel of apples (including the bushel itself). Most astonishingly, he could ingest live eels and snakes without the need to bite them, turning his performances into a grotesque form of entertainment.

7 4 Pounds of Raw Cow Udders, 5 Pounds of Raw Beef, and 12 Tallow Candles

While labeling Charles Domery’s (also known as Domerz) feats as performance art may be a stretch, his story mirrors that of Tarrare in many uncanny ways. Both men lived in 18th‑century Europe, suffered from an extraordinary appetite, and served in opposing armies during the War of the First Coalition. Domery’s notoriety grew after he was captured by the British Navy and examined while imprisoned in Liverpool.

Born in Poland in 1778, Domery weighed barely a hundred pounds yet claimed to have devoured 170 cats in a single year, and he could consume up to five pounds of grass daily when other food was scarce. Seeking better rations, he enlisted, only to be captured and subjected to medical scrutiny. Prison doctors recorded that he ate four pounds of raw cow udders, five pounds of raw beef, and, to top it off, twelve tallow candles in one night—yet he never added a single pound to his weight.

After this episode Domery vanished from the historical record, but his legend endured. Even Charles Dickens referenced him in the periodical Household Words, writing: “A man like this, dining in public on the stage of Drury Lane, would draw much better than a mere tragedian.”

6 Nuts, in Order

The title of this entry may underplay the astonishing nature of Hadji Ali’s act. The Egyptian‑born magician could swallow roughly forty unshelled hazelnuts and a single almond, only to regurgitate the nuts one by one on cue. No matter when an audience member requested the almond, Ali could produce it instantly, showcasing an uncanny control over his digestive tract.

Ali’s repertoire extended far beyond nuts. He famously regurgitated coins, jewelry, and even a live goldfish—keeping the fish alive throughout the performance. Born in 1892, he rose to fame on the vaudeville circuit of Broadway during the Roaring Twenties. He also earned the nickname “water‑spouter” by swallowing up to a hundred glasses of water and expelling it in a continuous stream, a feat he replicated with flammable kerosene, igniting it to reduce a wooden castle prop to ash.

5 4,000 Light Bulbs

Todd Robbins, a magician, comedian and self‑described “self‑made freak,” has been dazzling audiences with his modern sideshow act since the 1980s. Born in Long Beach, California in 1958, Robbins emerged from a renaissance vaudeville movement in 1980s New York and trained under the legendary Melvin Burkhart, inheriting Burkhart’s infamous nostril‑nail prop after his death in 2001.

Robbins’ marquee achievement is his consumption of more than 4,000 light bulbs over the course of his career. He does not simply gulp them whole; instead, he chews the shattered glass pieces in front of a live audience before swallowing the entire contents, turning a mundane household object into a terrifying spectacle.

Beyond bulb‑eating, Robbins showcases a medley of oddities: he can drive a nail into his nostril, perform sword‑swallowing (though he does not ingest the blade, keeping it out of the list’s criteria), and pepper his routine with what he calls “light comedy,” delivering humor alongside horror.

4 25,000 Light Bulbs

If arithmetic holds, 25,000 eclipses 4,000, and thus Serbian stuntman Branco Crnogorac claims the crown for the most bizarre eater. Born in Apatin in 1931, Crnogorac built a career around devouring metal, tallying 25,000 light bulbs, roughly 12,000 forks, 2,000 spoons and about 2,600 plates among other objects.

After a six‑decade run, Crnogorac retired following a near‑fatal incident: he choked on a bicycle pedal while attempting to consume an entire bike in under three days. He survived the ordeal, leaving behind a legacy of astonishing metallic ingestion that secures his place near the top of this list.

3 18 Bicycles

Michael Lotito, better known as “Monsieur Mangetout” or “Mr. Eat‑All,” earned a Guinness World Record as the “Man with the Strangest Diet.” Born in Grenoble, France in 1950, Lotito was discovered in 1959 to possess an extraordinary ability to ingest up to two pounds of metal daily.

Medical examinations revealed he suffered from pica—a psychological craving for inedible substances—but his stomach lining was unusually thick and his gastric acid exceptionally potent, allowing him to digest heavy metallic objects without harm. Throughout his career he swallowed televisions, shopping carts, chandeliers and, most impressively, eighteen full‑size bicycles.

Lotito’s feats earned him a place in the annals of bizarre performance art, and his record‑breaking consumption of bicycles remains a testament to the limits of human digestion.

2 A Secret Message

Any list of extraordinary eaters would be incomplete without revisiting Tarrare’s full culinary saga. After dazzling Parisian pantomime audiences, the War of the First Coalition beckoned him to a different kind of stage: espionage.

General Alexandre de Beauharnais, intrigued by reports of Tarrare’s ability to safely ingest inedible items, tasked him with swallowing a wooden box containing a secret communiqué to test whether such a payload could pass through his body intact. The trial succeeded, and the message emerged unscathed.

Consequently, Tarrare was dispatched to Germany to deliver a second secret note to a captive French colonel. Unfortunately, his inability to speak German, combined with his incessant hunger and a distinctive odor, led to his immediate capture as a spy. After a brief period of torture, the Prussians realized the message was merely a test and returned him to the French, though the episode underscored the perils of using a voracious performer for covert operations.

1 A Cessna Light Aircraft

The man crowned with the world record for the “Strangest Diet” also claims a second spot on this roster. While his metal‑eating feats are already legendary, Michael Lotito’s ultimate triumph involved consuming an entire Cessna 150 light airplane.

Much like Leon Samson’s automobile endeavor, Lotito disassembled the aircraft into bite‑sized portions, lubricated his digestive tract with mineral oil and maintained ample hydration to aid digestion. Over a two‑year period he successfully ingested the whole plane, proving that even complex machinery can become a meal for a determined performer.

Lotito passed away in 2007 from natural causes, having never suffered any serious health complications from his extraordinary diet, cementing his legacy as a true pioneer of the bizarre culinary arts.