It would be important to note that they have very little intelligence, and cannot run. Only one in four zombies can successfully climb a ladder, simple hand-over-hand coordination.
can zombies go 24/7 or do they need to rest? Or would they only go for a few days before their legs rotted out right under them.
24/7 Their muscles operate just like ours, causing tiny rips whenever they move. This is what allows us to build muscle. It rips and then heals, increasing mass. Not so in a zombie, because it doesn't heal, the rip stays, and thousands upon thousands of rips are needed to make any noticable change in the zombies speed. They exert no more force walking then we do. They can cross half a country in just a few weeks, and their legs will be barely effected, but they still weaken with every step. You'd likely see the legs fail about 6-7 months before it compleatly rots away. And when their legs fail, they'll simply pull themselves forward with their arms, if they haven't destroyed those. If decapitated, the movement of their jaw will allow them to still chase you, albeit very, very slowly.
Yeah, the definition of a decapitated zombie head is "Mostly Harmless". Not a threat unless you fall asleep in a field or you step on one.
How about this baby: Lahti L-39 20 mm Anti-Tank Cannon Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Zombies aren't real. There are no rules. Some are "viral" (re-animated because of an infection) some are "mystical" (re-animated because of some metaphysical reason). Some can run, others can jump, most seem to walk. Some can are quasi-intelligent, others are brain dead. Some need to eat regularly to survive, others are "immortal" and need nothing at all. Most importantly: zombies are no fun. ~String
Let's talk about the impossibility of zombies and continental conquest anyway. Standard example: "Dawn of the Dead". The vast majority of bodies in the USA are buried in coffins, within concrete casings, under six feet (several tons of soil). At the measured strength of zombies within the movie, escaping from the ground is simply impossible. Therefore any zombie-ism must come from freshly, non-buried corpses. How many can there be right now in the USA, let's be liberal and say a million. That leaves roughly 300 million other "non-infected citizens". Let's say that it spreads to roughly half the population (a stretch) and the other half is armed (that part isn't so hard to believe). That means that every adult human would have to kill about 1.6 people to kill all the zombies. Coupled with a heavily armed military with powerful killing tools, I think that most zombie afflictions (out side of the "28 Days/Weeks" scenario, which is more disease-ish than zombie-ish) could be wiped out quite easily. ~String
Nope, neither would be effective. The Anti-Tank rifle would just go straight through the zombie without killing it or doing any real damage, as the rotten flesh isn't as-sturdy-as live flesh. The organs will be slush-like, and the round will just pass right through it. Your also not going to find ammuntion for an AT cannon during a zombie outbreak. The military would of taken any military-grade ammo, such as 20mm rounds, assualt rifle ammunition, and grenade launcher rounds. The average civilian also doesn't know how to fire an assualt rifle, SMG, rocket launcher, et cetera. The fact that most military weapons have automatic fire is important to remember, A bolt-action rifle has greater accuracy, and ammo is far more common, and can be picked up at any gun store or Wal-Mart. An assualt rifle's rounds are much harder to find, and usually have to be purchased at specialty gun stores, which are relatively few and far between compared to the regular stores. The automatic fire will make you waste rounds on a target. Would you rather use 5 rounds per zombie compared to the 1 of a bolt rifle? An assualt rifle lets you "spray and pray". A bolt-action forces you to aim, and typically has longer range and accuracy the an assualt rifle, as well as being able to fit a scope. Preferably, you'd want a lever-action or semi-automatic rifle, as they have enough range and firepower to kill a zombie with a round to the head, as well as more ammo then a bolt-action, can fit scopes, as well as bayonets, and have more accuracy then the average assualt rifle. Semi-auto guns and ammo are relatively easy to find, and most guns stores have them, especially the M1A, a commercial version of the M14, and is almost exactly identical to the military weapon. Wooden fixed stocks are also heavier the extendable ones, and thus are more likely to crush a zombies skull in a melee. Basically, you can get effective weapons without having to go to the black market or stealing them from military bases and camps.
Zombies miss the mobility for fast spreading they miss the defensen against fast moving cars and hand guns they miss the offence to brake in a house without waking up the neigberhoud (in subburbs), they miss the obvious strenght to brake in a house in a city try busting through a full wooden oak door with nothing but your arm and feet
True, Max Brook's book and virus are far more realistic then zome random "coming back to life for no particular reason" thing used by most. The idea is that the virus will flourish among the poor and the homeless, who are unable to defend themselves. Ghettos and hospitals would be bad places to go during an outbreak, as most un-diagnosed infected victims who reach the coma stage will sent to the hospital, where they'd be declared dead when the heart stops and theres zero brain activity. Thus the coroner(s) will be the first victims of the zombie, having no effective weapons to kill it, and will be in close proximity when the infected re-animate. Ghettos' large number of low-income familys means that zombies can easily break into the houses; the owners not being well-equipped enough to fortify there homes, potentially infecting hundreds. Most militarys are going to shoot at the mid-section rather then the head, as its the accepted way to kill a human. Its going to be awhile before they realize that most of theri weapons are ineffective, either in the amount of kills they get, or the amount of ammo wasted. Even shotguns, bombs, and tanks are going to be ineffective. A tanks HE round will blow the limbs off, but the bodily "fluids" of a zombie (For lack of a better term) are still infectious, essentially turning every zombie in a 15 yard radius of the detonation into viral shrappnel. And the blast likely won't even kill a zombie, but it will disable quite a few. In oreder for the military to fight effectively, they'd need to un-learn -everything- they know about killing HUMANs. Theres thousands of ways to kill a human, only one to kill a zombie. Though Max does say that graveyards are actually safer then churches, as churches will attrect the masses, which to a zombie is like putting a bunch of steaks on a platter just for it. There is no way a zombie could claw out of a coffin and reach the surface. Also, as the bodily fluids of a zombie are no longer kept warm by body heat, the zombies can actually freeze solid in the winter or in the north, making Canada,Russia, and GreenLand relatively safe. I suggest you guys read "The Zombie Survival Guide" and "World War Z" by Max Brooks. Scarily realistic representations of likely responses, such as media blackouts, cover-ups, people being "executed" with shots to the head in "murders". China is actually the first place to have a zombie out break, and has almost its entire population infected, spilling over into India and Mongolia. Bitten people trying to flee the country go to Europe. Several Infected board ships headed for Australia and the Americas, and convert most of the passengers and crew on the way there. Infected blood and organ donors unwittingly spread the virus overseas into hospitals, and thousands are Infected that way. What all this leads up to is the whole of New York City being the first American city to fall. The military falls flat on its ass at Yonkers, a town outside New York, with thousands of soldiers being converted, their training being what got them killed. From there, Every East Coast state falls, and then it eventually spills over the Appalachians, causing the US capital to be moved to Hawaii, and every survivor pullling back west of the Rockies. Most of the Midwestern population is infected. China has a civil war thoughout the military. Israel self-imposes a national quarantine. These are just a few things that happened in "World War Z".
Yes, but they have persistance. Their muscles don't tire or ache like ours do after awhile, and can hit a door or window with the same force repeatedly for days or even weeks. Its silly to think that they don't have enough strength to break into houses. They have the same amount of strength as whoever their host was had. Most male zombies are going to be able to smash down a door or window. This isn't counting a gathering of zombies are pounding on the same thing. This same principle applys to biting as well. Humans can bite down hard enough to shatter bone (I should know. I was chewing on a sweatshirt cord once, my top teeth slipped, and cracked a bottom tooth in half. It is important to note that teeth are the hardest bones in the body.). This means a zombie can bite though leather, jeans, jackets, coats, all regular civilian clothes. You can't kill a zombie by runnng it over. Bodily trauma WON'T kill a zombie. You MUST destroy the brain. Thus, running it over will just send though the windshield into your lap, where it will promptly bite your leg, stomach, or, god forbid, you crotch. Also, important to note that zombies can and will attack a neighborhood en masse. Thus, even if they wake up the neighborhood, all their doing is luring more food out into the streets.
they may be as strong as a regular person, but like String said, how are the gonna dig their way out of a grave, especially when some of their muscle has rotted away?
"Davis traveled to Haiti in 1982 and, as a result of his investigations, claimed that a living person can be turned into a zombie by two special powders being entered into the blood stream (usually via a wound). The first, coup de poudre (French: 'powder strike'), induced a 'death-like' state because of tetrodotoxin (TTX), its key ingredient. Tetrodotoxin is the same lethal toxin found in the Japanese delicacy fugu, or pufferfish. At near-lethal doses (LD50= 5-8µg/kg)[2], it can leave a person in a state of near-death for several days, while the person continues to be conscious. The second powder, composed of dissociatives like datura, put the person in a zombie-like state where they seem to have no will of their own." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie It's real baby.. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I'm not saying they can dig themselves out, just that they can and will break into a house. Nobody can claw their ways out of an iron casket.
Sure they can brake in but it takes considerble time and a lot of noise enough to wake up the neigbours and face it if it takes more then what 10 minutes to brake in turn anyone in zombies and move to the next house then those zombies are going to have a real problem when the normal police shows up 15 minutes later. The metal body and the ability to run at 120 km/h would suffice but any hit from a car would break the zombies legs making them a whole lot less dangerous.
