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Zombies

M

mattpegher

Platinum Member
So I'm watching the walking dead and a strange thought came to me. This show is set in Georgia, i think. But what about the North. Would zombies freeze solid under 32 deg. Would they be even slower at 40 deg than they are at 70.
Ive seen lizards in florida get really slow when the temp dropped to 60.
And Ive seen human bodies that have died of freezing and come in solid as a rock.

Any thoughts?
 
I love zombie lore, but this subject, and this topic in particular, has been beaten to death (pardon the pun).

Short answer, yes, they freeze.
 
Thanks, not really a huge fan so I'm not familiar with all the stories.

Wouldn't that make them easy to kill in the winter?
As far as this series is concerned I think I'd try to make my way north. Its what a 24 hour drive? But you could have a whole winter of easy zombie clearing. Just have to worry about the limited growing cycle for food but this group hasnt reached the point of planting crops anyway.
 
mattpegher said:
Thanks, not really a huge fan so I'm not familiar with all the stories.

Wouldn't that make them easy to kill in the winter?
As far as this series is concerned I think I'd try to make my way north. Its what a 24 hour drive? But you could have a whole winter of easy zombie clearing. Just have to worry about the limited growing cycle for food but this group hasnt reached the point of planting crops anyway.
Click to expand...


First, they only have fuel to make shorter trips, unless they can find a huge stock pile.

Second, without electricity and other convienent items we have today, Humans didn't live in the cold for the harsh conditions. Neanderthals did, but they eventually died out. So even our ancestors were all abotu Africa, Middle East, India type weather

Thrid, Game will be hard to comeby in the northern colder weathers, and assuming most uncanned food has spoiled by now, the best way to survive would be to plant and harvest plants. This requries warmer weather that lasts longer,

Forth, unless they go so far up north, the zombies will only be held back during the coldest winter months. That still leaves months in which they can attack.
 
What about games of thrones, the whitewalkers? They are freezing, but I guess they aren't "zombies"?
 
diesbudt said:
First, they only have fuel to make shorter trips, unless they can find a huge stock pile.

Second, without electricity and other convienent items we have today, Humans didn't live in the cold for the harsh conditions. Neanderthals did, but they eventually died out. So even our ancestors were all abotu Africa, Middle East, India type weather

Thrid, Game will be hard to comeby in the northern colder weathers, and assuming most uncanned food has spoiled by now, the best way to survive would be to plant and harvest plants. This requries warmer weather that lasts longer,

Forth, unless they go so far up north, the zombies will only be held back during the coldest winter months. That still leaves months in which they can attack.
Click to expand...

Cro-magnons lived through the end of the last ice age...
 
momeNt said:
What about games of thrones, the whitewalkers? They are freezing, but I guess they aren't "zombies"?
Click to expand...

They are
reanimated corpses from magic. The whitewalkers are not the actual zombies, but the magic weilders (who are like 8-10ft tall) that reanimate the dead to fight for them. Since it is magic moving them, not really restricted to the cold argument.

This info is from the book, and not the show as the show has not gotten far enough yet if I remember right.
 
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momeNt said:
Cro-magnons lived through the end of the last ice age...
Click to expand...

Yes, but they were more southern. Neanderthals were the stocky, shorter heavily haired humanoids that lived i nnrothern Europe during the Ice Age and so on. They died out due to weather, shortage of food (as the cold requries more energy to burn to stay warm), and now believed possible scuffles with the cro-magnus humanoids.

Some also now believe that neanderthals and cro-mangus did intermingle at times, though research and study is still going into this area.
 
diesbudt said:
First, they only have fuel to make shorter trips, unless they can find a huge stock pile.

Second, without electricity and other convienent items we have today, Humans didn't live in the cold for the harsh conditions. Neanderthals did, but they eventually died out. So even our ancestors were all abotu Africa, Middle East, India type weather

Thrid, Game will be hard to comeby in the northern colder weathers, and assuming most uncanned food has spoiled by now, the best way to survive would be to plant and harvest plants. This requries warmer weather that lasts longer,

Forth, unless they go so far up north, the zombies will only be held back during the coldest winter months. That still leaves months in which they can attack.
Click to expand...

Well as for game, there are enough deer/acre in NJ at this point to feed a group this size indefinitely. (hell, there were twelve in my yard last night alone)

Also most homes in the rural areas of NE have some form of wood burning stove or fireplace. I dont doubt that I could survive here in NJ without electricity or heating fuel. Hell I do it for fun once a month camping.
I think the safety of frozen zombies even for 3 month a year would be worth it. Just think you could clean out any building with impunity as long as their frozen.

As for the fuel issue, I see that point but they seem to be driving around quite a bit.
 
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diesbudt said:
Yes, but they were more southern. Neanderthals were the stocky, shorter heavily haired humanoids that lived i nnrothern Europe during the Ice Age and so on. They died out due to weather, shortage of food (as the cold requries more energy to burn to stay warm), and now believed possible scuffles with the cro-magnus humanoids.

Some also now believe that neanderthals and cro-mangus did intermingle at times, though research and study is still going into this area.
Click to expand...

Word. Some even believe that Neanderthals were absorbed into cro-magnon population through inter-breeding!
 
I'd much rather live up north in a zombie invasion if they would in fact freeze. You can tie them up and burn them for warmth also. They'd maybe reawaken but they would be tied or staked down.
 
mattpegher said:
Well as for game, there are enough deer/acre in NJ at this point to feed a group this size indefinitely. (hell, there were twelve in my yard last night alone)

Also most homes in the rural areas of NE have some form of wood burning stove or fireplace.
I think the safety of frozen zombies even for 3 month a year would be worth it. Just think you could clean out any building with impunity as long as their frozen.

As for the fuel issue, I see that point but they seem to be driving around quite a bit.
Click to expand...

Well end of S2 they were hurting for gas. Start of S3, they have barely drove much from our knowledge beyond from the house to an area they found the prision. So we cannot be so sure.


Secondly, yes. In a NON APOCTALYPTIC world, deer are plentiful. But Plenty probably have died to zombies, people trying to survive, and so on.
 
diesbudt said:
Well end of S2 they were hurting for gas. Start of S3, they have barely drove much from our knowledge beyond from the house to an area they found the prision. So we cannot be so sure.


Secondly, yes. In a NON APOCTALYPTIC world, deer are plentiful. But Plenty probably have died to zombies, people trying to survive, and so on.
Click to expand...
I cant see a zombie catching a deer. You or I cant catch one without shooting it, how the hell are slow moving zombies going to get one.
 
diesbudt said:
Second, without electricity and other convienent items we have today, Humans didn't live in the cold for the harsh conditions. Neanderthals did, but they eventually died out. So even our ancestors were all abotu Africa, Middle East, India type weather

Thrid, Game will be hard to comeby in the northern colder weathers, and assuming most uncanned food has spoiled by now, the best way to survive would be to plant and harvest plants. This requries warmer weather that lasts longer,

Forth, unless they go so far up north, the zombies will only be held back during the coldest winter months. That still leaves months in which they can attack.
Click to expand...

The big problem with this argument is the existence of people like the Inuit who lived in arctic climates with very little in the way of agriculture. It's very difficult to adapt to a cold climate but not impossible. The key to surviving any zombie apocalypse is to use the terrain to your advantage. So remote locals, especially ones separated by natural barriers such as water, ice, or mountains will be your best friend. Zombies seem to be opportunistic feeders and don't venture far from places where there is a steady food supply.
 
momeNt said:
I'd much rather live up north in a zombie invasion if they would in fact freeze. You can tie them up and burn them for warmth also. They'd maybe reawaken but they would be tied or staked down.
Click to expand...


If they can make a steady food supply, and go about it smartly and make shelter that can weather the cold conditions, and make a fire that is hidden from long distance view (to avoid unfriendly living to find them), then this would be the best idea.

However, with this group I do not see that happening. Maybe if Deryl was by himself hed probably could easily do this.
 
mmntech said:
The big problem with this argument is the existence of people like the Inuit who lived in arctic climates with very little in the way of agriculture. It's very difficult to adapt to a cold climate but not impossible. The key to surviving any zombie apocalypse is to use the terrain to your advantage. So remote locals, especially ones separated by natural barriers such as water, ice, or mountains will be your best friend. Zombies seem to be opportunistic feeders and don't venture far from places where there is a steady food supply.
Click to expand...


Very true, except studies show that Inuits did have trade from southern indian tribes when it warmed up, helping them survive. And game was very plentiful as there wasnt a zombie virus eating animals, and other people eating/surviving.

(Thing is we are taking historically accurate fact and trying to place it into a hypothetical apoctalyptic world, in which conditions are much different from then and the "possible now")

There is no trade in an early apoctalyptic world. Maybe 100-200 years down the road.
 
It funny but I wonder if other rural folk as my self, Or Rednecks if you prefer, have the same difficulty seeing the walking dead as a real problem given the opportunities we've had to live without "modern conveniences".

I just cant see these zombies affecting the wildlife at all.
 
mattpegher said:
I cant see a zombie catching a deer. You or I cant catch one without shooting it, how the hell are slow moving zombies going to get one.
Click to expand...

How do zombies catch humans then? we are faster, smarter, and for the most part stronger?

Its called numbers. That is the true strength of them. As an animal runs from 10+ he may accidently fall into the arms of an 11th that just happened to be behind a tree. Their only other strength is, they are not alive. Pain and exhaustion doesn't stop them.

Also Modern Conveinces. This includes, and is not limited to. Electricity, easy access to weapons and processed food (only cans are unspoiled at this point), Bathrooms, Cleanliness, Medical supplies, clothes, stable shelters.

Also since everyone is infected (and you dont need a zombie bite to become a zombie) you can't even really segregate them anymore, as if lets say 8 people are barricaded behind a wall, and 1 dies from a fever from the flu, if the group doesn't think to act fast, there is a good chance 2-3 more will be killed by said person now a zombie.
 
diesbudt said:
How do zombies catch humans then? we are faster, smarter, and for the most part stronger?
Click to expand...

No, we're only theoretically smarter. A truly smart human would not get caught. But that makes lousy television, so the humans in zombie shows are dumb. They have to be stupid enough to get themselves into situations where a slow moving shambling mound of meat with no weapon other than teeth and no ability to plan or ambush could be a threat to them. Otherwise there's no show.

So instead of smart humans opening a door to the prison and making noise to draw the zombies out where they can safely be handled one by one the dumb humans go stumbling around in the dark making no attempt to protect themselves from attacks from the rear or either flank.
 
I still don't get how zombies like is the classic sense are even possible. If they aren't truly dead (as it seems their brains function somewhat) then the bodies can't be truly dead either. The heart would have to pump some amounts of blood for their muscles and axons to fire. They'd also need water, too, before they really needed food (because hey if they are basically dead, the body could consume itself for a good while).

I think zombies are cool and really fun to think about, but I am very much in favor of the "28 days later" type of zombie where it's humans that are totally alive, but influenced by some kind of disease/infection. Same thing with "The Crazies". People just driven to kill, but still need to keep up water and food intake.
 
This is how we deal with the zombie hoards up here in Canada

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