"Zombies, I was wondering.............." Topic

While at the Doc's office waiting for the inevidible snap of the rubber glove and "please bend over the table" routine, My mind got to wondering about other subjects. One that popped into my thoughts was, do Zombies breathe? I mean, they eat brains for whatever so why shouldn't they breathe? Not being an expert on the subject I am throwing it on the floor to see what happens or who steps in it. Let me know your thoughts.

Zombies are frequently depicted as moaning. That would require breathing to get airflow over the vocal chords.

I don't think the walking dead have a physiological need to breathe any more than they do to eat.

They can travel under the water… so I would vote that they do not require air to breath. But they would need air to moan.

I've never really understood zombies, in any context other than supernatural.

Now, as for living humans infected with some rage/hyper-rabies virus, THAT I can definitely understand (like in "28 Days Later").

Dan

Muscle strength of rotting flesh…?

I'm in the 'psycho-virus' camp too…the decomposition of dead flesh can be pretty rapid…..so I prefer the rage virus theory…..means they breathe and bleed…..shout and scream as well as moan!

Zombies don't really breath, but they do use air, typically for smelling in their search for fresh meat. The air used is then trapped in the lungs and moans are produced when the zombie clears it's lungs.
Everybody knows that…
Bob

I quit watching shows like TWD long ago. Those survivors are so dumb, etc., that they deserve to be "ete" !

Legion,

You are so right.

About the most angst ridden brunch of losers, who do deserve everything that happens to them.

Warning: Being facetious here… ;-)

Yes, zombies do exist and they can breathe.
How are they created?
When a person's smart phone malfunctions, or the signal is lost for any length of time, the person suffers from withdrawal and starts hyperventilating until they enter a catatonic state. They then start lurching around while moaning in distress (whining is actually more common), trying to get attention to replace that which they lost when all of their social media contacts became unavailable.
Eventually they'll tire and curl into a fetal position and sleep it off, but until then you can torment them by pretending to upload videos of their zombie behavior (though you do risk getting attacked for your own smart phone.) As for brains, the smart phone definitely has more than the zombie, which explains that attraction…

Mithmee

When a person's smart phone malfunctions, ..for any length of time, the person suffers from withdrawal and starts hyperventilating.. then start ..moaning in distress (whining is actually more common)

Zehphy1, I thought you were going to be "facetious"?
In thoughtful contemplation of todays world or what seems to be a 'Social Media addicted generation', I find your comments to be far MORE logical than most.
As for the 'whinning', "You hit the Nail on the 'pin' Head."

Ive only seen a cpl of episodes of TWD, pretty good but never became a 'follower'.
I do have and enjoy the Resident Evil series (for what it is: entertainment).
I only wish the writers would please Follow their own "rules" they lay down in a story line.
I.E., Res. Ev. Ep. 1:
Red Queen: "They (zeds) have only the basic of motor functions".
Jump to Ep. 5:
Like Driving armed vehicles? Firing modern weapons and (my favorite) riding motorcycles as if they were born to them.
Those Basic motor functions? Thanks to the writing staff for clearing that right up.

Zephyr1-
Not so facetious. The devices and their apps are quite Pavlovian.

The zombie effect takes hold the moment a techno-zombie puts one of those infernal devices in its mit and tunes out of physical reality.

Getting a wee bit closer to the point now..
*StoneMtnMinis, you brought up a point which never even crossed my mind. "Do Zeds breathe?"
Well right off, when you think about it the answer has to be, "Of course not, their dead."
However Dave Crowell makes a great point.

Zombies are frequently depicted as moaning. That.. require(s) breathing to get airflow over the vocal chords

You know.. this is starting to make the Proverbial Question:
"Which came first, The Chicken or the Egg?" Look like a one piece puzzle. LOL

Cacique Caribe
I've never really understood zombies, in any context other than supernatural.

C C you may be closer to actually explaining 'why' so many who create these stories, films, etc. the 'Undead' seem to vary so widely.
The writer themselves arent sure as to how to deal w/ that question.

@Part Time Gamer: "C C you may be closer to actually explaining 'why' so many who create these stories, films, etc. the 'Undead' seem to vary so widely. The writer themselves arent sure as to how to deal w/ that question."

And they're so inconsistent about it too. In one episode or movie, beheading "kills" the zombie, and in a later one by the same writer/director you'll see a disembodied head trying to bite one of the characters.

They need to simply do away with all the "virus" (medical) explanations. It's ridiculous. The phenomenon can only be explained in fantasy/supernatural terms. It would make a lot more sense if all modern zombie movies had some necromancer or wizard leading the reanimated corpses against the living.

Dan

>>C C you may be closer to actually explaining 'why' so many who create these stories, films, etc. the 'Undead' seem to vary so widely. The writer themselves arent sure as to how to deal w/ that question.<<

They don't have to "be sure". Zombies don't exist, so they behave in any way that the writers want them to. They can breath, or not breath. Shamble or ride motorcycles…or fly. The writer's only problem is whether they can write a good story or not.

I would say that supernatural zombies may have muscle memory echoes of the breathing behavior, but don't need to do it. They may also use chest/diaphragm movement to recreate the air movement needed for speech ("Brrrraaaaaaaainsssshhhh!").

Virus zombies, however, more parallel the cell phone zombies, so they need to breathe to sustain themselves, and thus could be killed/incapacitated through asphyxiation.