Zombies. Brains.
These two things are seemingly synonymous with each other because everyone knows that Zombies eat brains. I realized today that this is completely false! The idea that Zombies want Brains is infuriating and ridiculous… almost as ridiculous as the idea that Zombies can write blog posts.
Zombies by whatever rulebook or biology text you might be citing clearly show that they have no preference to the human organs they devour. They don’t process any tastes, scents, or any thoughts for that matter.
Brains are actually very well protected within a human skull. Although the ribcage protects the majority of a human’s organs, it can still be got at pretty easily by a hungry undead mob. The skull however is difficult to get open without wielding an instrument of weight or blunt object; something Zombies are specifically incapable of operating or figuring out. Have you ever seen a Zombie crack a walnut open and eat it? (ignoring the fact that zombies despise walnuts). Zombies can barely climb stairs, open doors, or negotiate simple motor tasks humans take for granted! This is best illustrated here in the Zombie Survival Guide:
“Zombies will try to scale any surface no matter how unfeasable or even impossible. In all but the easiest situations, these attempts have met with failure. Even in the case of ladders, when simple hand-over-hand coordination is required, only one in four zombies will succeed.”
-Brooks, 2003.
In many documented cases I would argue that the victims heads rolled safely away while their bodies were made into lunch! Disgusting,.. but true.
The one thing we do know about zombies; they prefer living humans’ organic tissue as opposed to deceased humans, animals, plant life, or McDonalds. The brain just happens to fall under that category, but why it gets “specialness” within zombie lore I am not exactly sure.
It seems to me that the myth that Zombies crave brains came from a connection to the disease itself. Everyone knows a zombie can only be killed by destroying their brain, and the virus itself that causes zombification in the individual, effects the brain and limits its functions. Perhaps this is the reason the brain has been decided upon by the masses as the central focus of a zombies lust.
Whatever the case may be, I have been thinking a lot about zombies lately. And why not? This fall will be a new season of the Walking Dead on AMC, I’ll be working another year in the Terrified Forest and Manor in Pinckney, and Dana and I will be putting on a Zombie 5k for her Angioma Alliance! My brain is just spinning just thinking about it all.
If you like dressing up like a zombie, and would enjoy a nice 5k walk/run on a brisk fall day in October, sign up for our race! Here’s the link to sign up, and all proceeds go towards the Angioma Alliance! http://AAZombie5K.qrickets.com/
One Comment
You know that never quite made sense to me. Some would say that zombies desire brains to replace their own, but then… do zombies even realise that they need brains in order to function well? Like you said, it seems to me that zombies will eat anything as long as it’s living!