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Do zombies eat and/or poop?
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But how do they keep going, then? Don't they need energy, even if they're undead? And wouldn't that energy produce waste? And wouldn't that waste need to be removed? And wouldn't the energy be finite and need to be restored?
The undead do not require food for energy. They are animated by evil, not digestion.
Phil wrote: "The undead do not require food for energy. They are animated by evil, not digestion."I thought everyone knew that.
They don't regenerate, and they're rotting, so they may just be cannibalizing their own tissue for energy, RA.They don't die if they don't eat, right? They just keep going? Nothing kills them except destroying their brains, so they aren't functioning like regular organisms.
Ok, but not all undead are alike. Vampires are different than zombies.I don't know if vampires poop, either. They might be able to assimilate all the blood, but I don't see the zombies being able to do that with flesh.
By the way, I was quite proud of my eight year old as far this topic is concerned. I ran this question by him and he reasonably explained that zombies were not alive and therefore did not poop. He was eating a grilled cheese sandwich at the time. While I have questions about that theory I'm glad he has some sense of cause/effect in logical assertions here.
They don't regenerate, and they're rotting, so they may just be cannibalizing their own tissue for energy, RA. Ok, this is interesting. But I still have questions.
1. What happens to the meat/brains when they eat it? If they continually eat, where does it go? Do the zombies get fat?
2. If they didn't eat, then, and your cannibalization theory is true, would they eventually cannibalize so much of their tissue that they would "die" again?
They don't ingest and digest the brains, they merely gnaw, rip and tear.
Are you sure about that? I thought they ate them.
It sure looked like they were eating a horse in that show The Walking Dead.
In 28 Days Later, the zombies starved to death
There was talk of a fever on the show last night, that you get if you are bitten by a zombie. Perhaps zombies have a higher internal temperature, and anything ingested is totally consumed that way, through heat and rotting processes.I'm assuming that the Walking Dead is working with scientifically explainable zombies, instead of magically animated zombies. I wasn't getting a supernatural vibe from the show.
Well, okay, what is a zombie then? Yes, the zombies in that movie had some kind of infection - but they ate people, and I think of them as zombies. What's the difference between the Infected in 28 Days Later and every other zombie?
Just like with vampires, every zombie story gets to make up its own explanation for how things work. So, In 28 Days Later, we have some sort of government virus escaping, I think, creating these fast cannibalistic infected people. I can't remember if they had to die first? I don't think so.
But in a lot of old movies, it's truly DEAD people being reanimated by something and coming back to life, rising from graves and such.
The writers get to make the rules.
Oh, and there are voodoo zombies, which might not be dead, or anything but in a kind of catatonic state brought about by drugs so they can be used as slaves.
I fully agree with KD on this one. Also, with as much zombie pop culture as there is floating about in the ether, and as much of it as I've consumed, you'd think we'd have seen such a sight by now, probably played for laughs. The fact that we haven't leads me to think that even comedic zombie writers know this is a fundamental rule of zombie biology that shouldn't be broken.
what a silly question, of course zombies don't poop, and they're sloppy eaters like cookie monster.
Ok, I missed Misha's explanation about barfing up the meat. That has merit. I hear what you're saying, Natalie, but you hardly ever see characters in any media pooping. Perhaps zombie pooping happens off-screen. But then wouldn't we at least see piles of zombie poop or stains on their butts? Also...I was thinking...wouldn't a zombie-infested world be very smelly? Do the humans get used to it? Why don't they cover their noses?
RandomAnthony wrote: "Also...I was thinking...wouldn't a zombie-infested world be very smelly? Do the humans get used to it? Why don't they cover their noses?
"
Yep, the smell is enough to knock a dog off a gut wagon. In fact, it's often said you can smell zombies before you can see them.
These two books by Brian Keene describe the stench in detail quite often:
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Yep, the smell is enough to knock a dog off a gut wagon. In fact, it's often said you can smell zombies before you can see them.
These two books by Brian Keene describe the stench in detail quite often:
Excellent books by the way, Clark.
To understand zombies, one must know what it is that turns them into zombies; it's an enzyme called Solanum that causes the brain to die at first, which then leads to body death. But then the brain regenerates, even if the entire body rots; solanum infects the brain so that all a zombie does is seek out flesh.
Which is why you're told if you're going to kill a zombie, go for the head; once you've killed the brain, or severed the brain from the central nervous system, you've in essence killed the zombie. And while bullets are nice, a big-assed machete is the perfect weapon for beheading zombies; after all, a machete never needs reloading.
And this concludes your zombie survival lesson for today.
To understand zombies, one must know what it is that turns them into zombies; it's an enzyme called Solanum that causes the brain to die at first, which then leads to body death. But then the brain regenerates, even if the entire body rots; solanum infects the brain so that all a zombie does is seek out flesh.
Which is why you're told if you're going to kill a zombie, go for the head; once you've killed the brain, or severed the brain from the central nervous system, you've in essence killed the zombie. And while bullets are nice, a big-assed machete is the perfect weapon for beheading zombies; after all, a machete never needs reloading.
And this concludes your zombie survival lesson for today.
A)I can only skim this topic since zombies actually give me nightmares. Even Shaun of the Dead. Heck, even the excellent zombie Community episode last week.B)I'm with Misha and the librarian. They gnaw more than they ingest. Have you ever seen a zombie stop because it's full? No, they're just compelled to find and eat. I'm tempted to say "like my dog," but I don't want to associate him with zombies.
I admittedly didn't read more than the first few posts in this thread, so I'm a little behind. But I agree with RA, I think they do poop their pants (upon first exiting their graves only). IMO that's why they move like they do...they're doing the shitty pants shamble.
Zombies perplex me. I've never cared for them, even though I love horror and I have been giving The Walking Dead a try. There was a great literary panel at the San Diego Comic Con this year. I found the links on YouTube. They talked about the different origins authors use, i.e., George Romero. It was a lot like the different origins of vampires; Stoker, Anne Rice, other.Reading with Brains pt 1
Reading with Brains pt 2
Reading with Brains pt 3
Reading with Brains pt 4
Reading with Brains pt 5
Sarah Pi wrote: "Really? Huh. Abbie Normal indeed."Hehehehe! EYE-gor! Yeah, I only realized it because someone asked him a question about the comedy he puts in his books having to do with the comedy in his blood. I literally had a lightbulb moment. I looked at him (recognized his mannerisms and saw something familiar in his face) and listened to him (the inflection in his voice became familiar) and then he made some self-effacing comment about being a Jew and the lightbulb went off! Then I just wanted to touch him because he came from the sperm of Genius! But I didn't get the chance.
A Zombie will eat, but never poohsGot them heavy scatalogical blues
IMO that's why they move like they do...they're doing the shitty pants shamble. This has merit.
1) The librarian says that zombies don't have to eat but just like or are compelled to eat flesh and brains. Correct me if I'm wrong with that, Jackie.
2) I say that any body, dead or living (uh, whatever), needs energy to survive. Something is making the zombies move...some chemical reaction...and the brain-eating (which, of course, is unfortunate) helps with this.
In turn, I say zombies poop. In their pants. If they're wearing them. And this makes the half-body zombie in the first episode of The Walking Dead problematic. Would the zombie expire if he wasn't able to poop because, uh, he's got half a body?
Your thoughts?