Zombies are not fond of brains

[cthulu2016]

Where did that meme even come from?

The definitive cinematic works on zombies do not feature zombies eating brains in preference to anything else. Zombies feasting on entrails is a common theme. Zombies are, however, seldom seen eating brains.

And, in fact, it is quite easy to prove that zombies do NOT typically eat brains.

1) The only way to "kill" (permanently disable, cease movement of) a zombie is through brain injury. Shooting a zombie in the head or delivering a crushing blow to the head will kill a zombie and nothing else will.

2) Thus a typical zombie victim would, having had their brain eaten, not be able to become a zombie themselves.

3) Zombie victims typically do become zombies themselves. We know this from the ever-increasing zombie population.

Conclusion: Zombies do not typically eat brains, and have no special preference for brains.

Supporting argument: Classic zombies do not use tools. The brain is the one part of the body that even a super strong-jawed zombie would be unable to reach without a tool to break open the skull. (Even bashing on a sidewalk is beyond the intellect of most zombies.)

Yes, if you hand a zombie a brain on a plate he will eat it, but it is not an especial dietary preference.

[Life Long Dem]

1. Maybe I should read up on zombies.

[KansDem]

2. That's why so many of them are Republicans...

nt

[randome]

3. Return of the Living Dead helped drive the point home that brains were the meal of choice.

That was 1985.

[pinboy3niner]

4. Seems like a good way to eliminate the competition--pre-emptively

Maybe they're smarter than we think.

[SidDithers]

5. Yup...

that's where brains became a zombie delicacy.



The movie also featured smokin' hot scream-queen Linnea Quigley in various stages of mostly undress.

Good campy fun

Sid

[cthulu2016]

7. Posh! Dan O'Bannon's research is flawed.

O'Bannon's late 1970s work on to morphology and habits of acid-blooded aliens (for which be shared the Nobel prize in xenobiiology with Gieger) remains sound, but his controversial work on zombies has been widely rejected in the field.

Romero's scientific findings have faced mush revisionism, like the neo-Romeroist vogue of the 1980s, and the brain-obsessed speculations published in multiple volumes of THE SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR, but NOTLD and DOTD (original and remake) remain the definitive scientific works on zombie diet.

And the problem of the zombie-reactivation of brain-devoured victims remains an insurmountable critique of the new wave zombie.

(See also, Fulci. The Italian zombie will devour a great white shark with relish, though the great white has one of the lower brain-to-body mass ratios in the animal kingdom.)

[Taverner]

6. "Return of the Living Dead" series

In that series, they tweaked St Romero's story - zombies couldn't be killed, even with a shot to the head, they were somewhat sentient and they craved brains.

[yellerpup]

8. On your supporting argument:

I believe I once witnessed a Zombie using a zester. He was not zesting over a brain, however.

[Motown_Johnny]

9. .

Last edited Tue Jun 5, 2012, 05:25 PM - Edit history (1)

warning ... F bomb

Edit to add:


If I wanted to eat a human brain I would not try to smash through the skull. I would tear off the jawbone, scoop out the roof of the mouth and sinuses (and anything else in my way) and use the skull as a bowl.

I don't think I would need super strength to do that.

[sakabatou]

10. Interesting