Buzz
Many of us have likely scoured the web to find out how swiftly and effectively a zombie outbreak could be managed. However, such response teams and strategies would never be needed. From a forensic standpoint, zombies could never operate correctly, even if they were brought into existence. Here are 10 reasons why the creation of zombies is impossible.
10. Wave Of Death
Although zombies often seem disoriented, they are typically depicted as possessing a form of awareness. This is why you must turn off the lights at night and remain silent. The smallest noise or sight of a human can trigger an attack. Yet, this level of awareness would be unattainable since brain activity is among the first functions to shut down after death.
A 2011 study conducted by Anton Coenen involved beheading rats to determine how long consciousness persists. Brain activity was monitored using an EEG. Within 17 seconds, the readings dropped to zero, signaling the cessation of brain function.
About a minute later, the EEG detected a sudden spike, a final 'wave of death' coursing through the brain before the readings stabilized at zero indefinitely. Without this neural activity, the heightened awareness often attributed to zombies would be impossible.
9. Locked Limbs
While some movies show zombies as unnaturally fast runners, they are typically depicted as slow, shuffling creatures that can be outrun with a brisk walk. However, neither rapid nor sluggish movements are biologically feasible for zombies.
Approximately two hours post-death, the body undergoes rigor mortis, a process triggered by the depletion of ATP, the chemical responsible for supplying energy to muscles. This rigidity gradually spreads throughout the entire body.
Rigor mortis also immobilizes the joints, effectively eliminating any possibility of movement for the deceased.
8. Self-Digestion
Even in their most horrifying depictions, zombies fail to match the grotesque reality dictated by biology. Post-death, tissue decomposition occurs rapidly through two primary processes: putrefaction and self-digestion.
Putrefaction involves bacteria escaping the intestines and breaking down the body. Simultaneously, the body undergoes self-digestion, where oxygen-deprived cells continue chemical reactions, becoming increasingly acidic and releasing harmful by-products.
As these toxic by-products build up, cell membranes eventually degrade, releasing enzymes into the body. This leads to severe bloating and skin blistering. Within a week, even slight pressure can cause the skin to detach from the body.
These processes commence just minutes after death, making the notion of a corpse remaining intact long enough to unleash global chaos utterly implausible.
7. Paralysis
Zombies are often depicted performing impressive feats like climbing barriers and breaking down doors, showcasing significant muscle activity and fine motor skills. However, these actions are biologically unfeasible, as the central nervous system is entirely nonfunctional after death.
The central nervous system, comprising the brain and spinal cord, governs motor control. Damage to any part of this system disrupts communication between the brain and body, leading to paralysis.
Not only does the spinal cord deteriorate during self-digestion, but the brain also ceases activity shortly after death, as seen in the 'wave of death.' With both components of the central nervous system destroyed, zombies would be completely paralyzed.
6. Zero Chemical Energy
The term 'metabolism' encompasses the series of chemical reactions within a body that sustain the living state of cells. These processes convert the food we consume into ATP, the energy source that powers muscle activity.
While metabolism doesn’t cease immediately after death, it takes between 4 to 10 minutes for these processes to fully halt. Even if the undead were to somehow regain consciousness after the 'wave of death,' their muscles would remain immobile without the continuous production of ATP.
5. Disintegrated Eyeballs
Vision, while complex, relies on two essential elements: the retina and the optic nerve. The retina captures visual information, which is then sent to the brain through the optic nerve.
Like all tissues, these components are impacted by self-digestion, which starts shortly after death. Rigor mortis also affects the small muscles of the eyes, particularly those in the face and neck, which control pupil dilation and contraction for focusing light. These muscles become paralyzed.
Furthermore, the eyes will collapse due to a lack of blood pressure, turning opaque. What isn’t destroyed by self-digestion is rendered useless by rigor mortis, making vision entirely nonfunctional. This debunks the notion that these supposedly sharp-eyed creatures could effectively hunt.
4. Locked Jaws
Zombies are often depicted as agile, but this would be impossible due to natural processes and embalming practices. While embalming methods differ by religion, it is standard in the United States to modify the appearance of the mouth.
To counteract the grimace effect caused by rigor mortis, the deceased’s mouth is either stitched shut internally or glued. Even in cultures where mouth binding isn’t practiced, rigor mortis would still immobilize the jaw muscles.
Rigor mortis can tighten facial muscles so severely that the deceased’s expression often resembles a grimace.
3. Entombment Within Vaults
Even if, by some extraordinary chance, the dead were to reanimate and remain unaffected by all the previously discussed factors, they would still be trapped in their graves. The phrase 'six feet under' exists for a specific purpose.
Before the use of caskets, bodies were buried 2 meters (6 feet) deep to safeguard them from scavenging animals. Today, most states follow the 'six feet under' guideline, often including a burial vault that encases the coffin and provides structural stability to the surrounding soil.
Once the casket is placed inside the burial vault and sealed, approximately 1 meter (3 feet) of soil is piled on top. With a combined weight of up to 900 kilograms (2,000 pounds) pressing down on this doubly sealed structure, escape becomes nearly impossible.
2. Crumbled Bones
In fast-paced zombie outbreaks, it might seem plausible—in a cinematic sense—that the newly infected wouldn’t die immediately and might avoid the issues we’ve discussed. But what about zombies reanimated by something like atmospheric radiation?
These films often depict long-dead individuals clawing their way out of graves. However, their skeletal structures wouldn’t be capable of such feats. For those buried for extended periods, their bones would no longer exist, let alone function for movement.
The proteins in bones eventually break down. Once this happens, the bones—primarily inorganic—will simply disintegrate into dust. This occurs regardless of the environment. Factors like burial type and climate can speed up or slow down the process, but the outcome is unavoidable.
1. Environmental Digestion
Some deceased individuals end up in ditches, rivers, or remote wilderness areas. Consequently, these unfortunate souls could never function as zombies. While rigor mortis may not become noticeable until two days after death, and self-digestion takes about a week to cause significant tissue decay, environmental factors can reduce a body to a skeleton in just a few days.
Warmer climates, exposure to water, and other conditions significantly accelerate decomposition. This doesn’t even account for the appetite of local wildlife—such as flies, ants, fish, and crabs—which can skeletonize a body faster than its own natural breakdown processes.
+Further Reading
While zombie fever might be waning, there’s still plenty of time to dive into fascinating reads about them! Check out these curated lists from our archives:
10 Awesome Theories In Zombie Science Top 10 Zombie Apocalypse Conspiracy Theories Top 10 Bizarre Apocalypse Scenarios Top 10 Zombie Movies
