As I binge watch The Walking Dead, I often trick myself into thinking that I could defend myself like Michonne and carry around a samurai sword, lead a group like Rick, and be independent like Carol. Unfortunately, reality hits me, and I realize I’m a big wuss who would probably projectile vomit and lose consciousness if I saw a zombie approaching me from a mile away.
So, my softness brings me to a very important question: What would actually happen during a zombie apocalypse? How many would there be? Where would they come from? Do they hold the same characteristics as the ones in TWD? Do they perish in same way? WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?
I like to play this game in my mind when I’m bored in class. If zombies began flooding this room, what is my weapon of choice? I then look around the room, looking for items that I would be able to blast through zombies with, and I usually settle on the metal leg of a desk. A metal leg of a desk. Then I panic – how am I going to get the metal leg off the desk? I like to think with all of the adrenaline and fear that I would magically develop super strength and tear the leg off the chair with my bare hands and be everyone’s hero, but no. I’d be the first to jump out of the window and leave everyone behind.
Everyone likes to think that they would be able to defend themselves, but no one would know what to do. Even though they are already dead, most of us would not be able to drive a weapon through a zombie’s brain. After years of being outnumbered by zombies, like in TWD, I’m sure some people would develop the ability (or just lose their mind) to exterminate said zombies.
But do you really think that zombies would last on earth for years? Scientifically, probably not. First of all, they would never be able to take the heat, especially zombies who have risen from the dirt. Only rarely does TWD portray the effect that the sun could have on zombies, but in reality, I think the sun would be more apparent and beneficial to eliminating zombies from the world. Also, since they are a bunch of corpses walking around, they will do what corpses do. Bloat. Except since they are walking around with growing bacteria in them (you know, from being dead and all), they will most likely burst from inflammation. It’s also worth mentioning that certain predators would take part in ingesting zombie brains.
Ultimately, we would have some temporary and natural defense mechanisms (so we think), but we still have to look on the other hand. What if all hell breaks lose and the heat doesn’t affect the zombies?
I suggest that we start playing the “choose your weapon” game. Pretend that zombies are coming and you need a weapon to defend yourself immediately. I like to pretend that somewhere, somehow, a samurai sword will appear, and I will magically and remarkably know how to slice and dice a zombie.