Line #85 Headscratchers/TheZombieSurvivalGuide


1	* Many high-velocity rounds like the M-16 or M249 SAW fire can cause "Hydrostatic Shock", meaning that a massive pressure wave goes through the body, rupturing organs and quite likely the brain, from a center-of-mass shot. Why does this not affect zombies?
2	** As zombies don't replenish their fluids, their bodies would necessarily be rather dehydrated, and hydrostatic shock may not affect them to the same extent as it affects a living organism.
3	*** Dehydrated tissue wouldn't absorb force as well. One .223 round starts ripping good-sized holes in the target.
4	** Plus there's the fact the author was strongly against fully-automatic weapons and wasting ammo on center mass shots. Which is a good point. Enough hydrostatic shock might be able to cripple a zombie's central nervous system, but any time going straight for the head would be more efficient, you might as well.
5	** [=FMJ=] bullets in .223 caliber should not be overrated in their effect either on a living or an undead target. They may tear flesh and rupture internal organs by shock at very close ranges, but they are light (almost 4 times lighter than a .30-06 round), they are easily deviated by wind beyond 200-300 meters and in many countries they are legally limited to game the size of a roe deer (or a whitetail, for American readers). If you deal with a target which does not register pain and has no functional internal organs, better get a headshot and ask questions later.
6	*** How necessary those headshots are has been [[FlameWar enthusiastically debated]] on the Headscratchers/WorldWarZ page, but, overall, if you can disable a zombie (be it via spinal damage, leg damage or indirect trauma-- organs [[NoSell don't count]]) with 2-3 shots reliably rather than trying to get a headshot on a moving target at distance with whatever weapon you can find and/or have ammo for, I personally prefer the former
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8	* Why is it so important to dispose of the corpses? Brooks' zombies are considered taboo by animals, thus scavengers won't eat them and spread infection, they are noninfectious in 48 hours anyway, and the time you spend disposing of them is time you could be gathering food, ammo, or supplies, or getting the Hell out of Dodge.
9	** He does mention that although most animals find zombie eating taboo, insects like flies or maggots do not (at least once the zombie is properly 'dead'), and although the zombies aren't decomposing too quickly, their rotting flesh does still present very obvious and potentially deadly safety hazard.
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11	* Why is Brooks so against dismembering the zombies? I don't care if they can still bite me, I care if they can get to me to bite me, and thus a spinal shot or one to the knees would be best.
12	** A legless or paralyzed zombie can still crawl. Worse, a zombie lying down can be more difficult to spot, especially at a distance. An able-bodied zombie, for instance, you could see coming at you from a good distance even if it's wading through long grass. A zombie that's had its legs blown off, however, you might not see it at all until you're right on top of it and its teeth are in your leg.
13	*** and... suddenly that assholish groan is gone?
14	*** They only groan once they've got eyes on prey usually.
15	*** This point does at least matter less if you're on the run, and not intent on clearing out an area or defending it. If all you're after is getting away, and a non-fatal (for a zombie) and immobilizing shot would prove more efficient at stopping an immediate threat and preventing pursuit, then the crippled zombie would [[BystanderSyndrome become someone else's problem]].
16	*** Remember, even if the spine's completely severed, a zombie's head can still bite. The Guide advises completely [[DeaderThanDead DESTROYING]] zombies whenever you bother fighting them, as even missing both legs, an arm and most of its face a zombie will [[ImplacableMan follow you forever]], moaning to attract others.
17	*** My first thought on hearing that a given patch of ground is full of crawling, crippled zombies is 'Somebody get me one of those minefield-clearing trucks that's designed to actually drive over the land mines; I'm gonna go out there and do donuts until all the zombies are paste.' Or a steam roller. Or a bulldozer. Or a tank.
18	*** That might work, Brooks did admit it. The thing is [[AwesomeButImpractical EFFICIENCY]]. A standing zombie is taller, easier to spot, would probably make more noise from stomping around and would die from a good blow to the head. To kill zombies effectively with a vehicle, it would need to hit them at speed to break bones, then turn around and go back over them once or twice to make sure the skull cracked and the brain was destroyed. A steamroller would work, but that would take a ton of fuel.
19	*** Going back to the original point, dismembering zombies should be effective if you follow it up by killing them. Even if zombies don't always groan, they should still make noise crawling over the ground, so there's no risk of not noticing them. In fact, the very idea of Brooks zombies being able to sneak up on people is absurd, as they lack the intelligence to move quietly, wait in ambush or otherwise act stealthily.
20	*** It's not a matter of them deliberately trying to ambush anyone. A crippled zombie under some cover (long grass, water, mud, pile of rubble etc) just lies there, unable to walk so not moving much at all, certainly not enough to make any significant noise, until some unlucky fellow treads on or near them then ''chomp.'' Whereas if they'd been shot in the head the problem of that particular zombie is resolved forever. Yes, dismembering a zombie and ''then'' killing them will work but that assumes you have the time to do so.
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22	* Why shouldn't spears be used in a zombie outbreak? Also, shovels are never mentioned. Wouldn't you want a weapon that can smash in a head and chop through a skull from a safe distance? And chances are you will be needing one anyway...
23	** Mostly because using a long pole-based weapon on zombies gives them something to grab and drag you down with. Even if that didn't happen, a point is made that stabbing weaponry can get stuck in a Zed's head, probably knocking you off-balance. It's also stated that shovels are decent (well, a type of "battle" shovel from China and used by those monk zombie hunters) Zed-killing tools.
24	** Spears were used in one or two of the recorded attacks. In the same vein as rapiers and thrusting swords, the only way to guarantee a kill would be a stab [[EyeScream through the eye]] as the human skull's pretty tough. Enough force could sever the spine or throat and cause severe damage of course, but as long as the brain's intact the zombie is a threat, however immobile.
25	*** In one case, improvised pole-weapons were used to keep zombies at bay from the top of a staircase. They worked fairly well, however eventually they either stuck in the zombies' flesh or were grabbed and pulled away.
26	** You could probably do well with a two-man team, one wielding a boar-spear and the other, a blade, however. Spear-man jabs the zombie mid-body, zombie keeps approaching until it hits the crossbar, spear-man holds the impaled zombie steady while the blade-man takes off its head. If there's more than one zombie, find a narrow bolthole and spear the first one to approach, then hold the impaled one in place as a barrier while taking off the arms of the ones trying to get past it until they can't grab and are easier to decapitate.
27	*** Decent plan for a well trained duo with steady nerves but the book is specifically supposed to be advice for normal civilians.
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29	* Why is the use of automatic weapons downplayed? Ammunition can be found by the thousands in the back of any gunshop and in the millions in any military base.
30	** Ammunition will eventually become scarce if people waste half of theirs on impractical or unnecessary shots.
31	** he does rather HandWave away the "scythe theory", though. It's not that that bad an idea.
32	*** How is it HandWaved? He makes a perfectly valid point against it; zombies aren't all the same height. Attempting to mow them all down by aiming at their head level may result in ''some'' lethal shots, but a great deal of your bullets will end up either missing entirely or hitting the zombies in non- vital areas, like their chests or shoulders. Either way, you're wasting a ton of bullets.
33	** [[HilariousInHindsight And now good luck finding thousands of rounds in stores these days, thanks to the shortages.]]
34	*** The shortages are because people are buying all that ammo and hoarding it by the crate; you don't even need to go to the store anymore, the gun enthusiasts already have their stockpiles.
35	** In some places, such as urban Australia for example, it may be possible for someone to go their whole life without ever seeing more than three bullets in one place. Even if you did find a military base full of ten-million rifle rounds for your weapon of choice, how would you carry them? Plus, if you always act as if ammunition is scarce... it never will become so.
36	*** The very phrase "hoarding '''by the crate''" above. Ammo is heavy. Bricks of usual hunting ammo (.30-06 / 8x57JS / 7x64 / etc) are a few pounds each. Shotgun ammo is even heavier and bulkier. You don't want to flee through wilderness carrying crates of ammo. Hunters carry a few rounds and aim carefully to make each hit count.
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38	* Brooks goes to the trouble of discussing Hollywood and Voodoo zombies, but why does it completely neglect actual, real-life zombies? I'm talking about parasite-based insect ones.
39	** The book's not about them. It's about classic Hollywood style zombies, and the voodoo zombies are only really mentioned because they have the same name and are made from people.
40	** The book came out before those types of zombies were really popularized in fiction and Brooks specifically noted that he fears the Viral version of zombies, as they act like the virus that infected them and indiscriminately kill without rhyme or reason. Parasite Zombies, at least, would be restricted to the parasite's preferred host and wouldn't be as rampantly contagious (it would still be fairly contagious, but unless the parasite makes zombies through a virus, you only ever get 1 zombie per parasite).
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42	* The book claims that Egyptians may have removed the brain of a dead pharaoh so that a zombie cant reanimate it. But didn't he also say an already dead body could not be reanimated?
43	** Yes, but the Egyptians didn't know that.
44	** Not so a zombie could reanimate it (can't infect a corpse which zombies ignore anyway) but so that the corpse wouldn't reanimate if already infected. If a someone was infected they would be dead (or at least unconscious) for a few hours before reanimation. The entombed zombie that was found likely reanimated after being sealed in.
45	** The Comic book implied that they did this to every corpse "just to be sure" regardless of how they died. It's likely that the Egyptians knew about what zombies could do, but didn't know how a person became a zombie.
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47	* In the world of the book, the existence of zombies is common knowledge. So why do governments around the world continue to cover-up zombie outbreaks?
48	** Presumably to avoid a panic. In a small outbreak most people would be fine. If you announce that there are zombies wandering round then people will panic buy, loot and generally try to get the heck out of dodge. At best that would damage the local economy, at worst it could end up spreading the outbreak further.
49	*** or.... buy some ammo and a gun, [[WeirdnessCensor and go about their business as usual.]] Worst case scenario and you have a panicked evacuation and the rest can do [[RuleOfCool some recreational zombie-hunting after work]]. [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII If Londoners can go about their business during the day and take shelter from German bombs at night]] then Suburban Joe can at least keep his shit together long enough for the calvary to arrive.
50	*** Or... buy some ammo and a gun and go all vigilante on anyone who looks a bit shabby and groans
51	*** Or... buy some ammo and a gun and go out at night to cold-bloodedly shoot someone they're pissed at, then argue "Well, they looked like a zombie in the darkness!" at the trial.
52	*** Or... leave the IdiotBall, VillainBall, and ConflictBall at home. With the conflicting messages about [[DareToBeBadass "You, too, can be a Zombie Hunter!"]] And [[HumansAreMorons But you're going to fuck it up."]], things tend to get tangled up a bit.
53	** The book discusses the matter in a CassandraTruth manner; it pretends to be in our universe for the added realism and is suppose to sound like one of those crazy survivalist manuals you'd find that sounds like it was written by a conspiracy theorist.
54	** As the above troper, I get from the book that the events were told as if they happen in OUR world, in RealLife, so is the way to explain that zombies' existence is not wildly accepted. Most fiction histories use some sort of Surrogate Universe pretending to be our own but many tropers tend to treat them as meta-universes.
55	** The book did not at any point treat zombies as common knowledge in the modern world. It only treated them as ''real''. In fact it made it pretty clear that most people in modern society ''don't'' know about zombies, precisely because of all the cover-ups.
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57	* Brooks states that it takes up to five years for zombies to decompose due to most of the bacteria in the body getting the hell out of dodge once solanum enters the system. But they still rot, meaning that some bacteria remains. With all the detail Brooks goes into explaining how lethal and how terrifying solanum is and how everything in the animal kingdom will flee from its presence, one has to wonder just what naturally occurring bacteria in our bodies is Badass enough to not give a damn and just carry on business as usual?
58	** He talks only about ''bacteria'', not about ''archaeans'' or ''fungi'', which can have greatly different cell structures, but can also act in decay. Plus the fact that something like Brooks describes - an UniversalPoison - might be actually impossible in RealLife due to evolutionary constraints. And by the way, not all bacteria can "get the hell out of the dodge" due to the simple fact that they can't ''move''.
59	** And even with with all bacteria HandWave-d out of the body, mechanical wear and tear is a massive problem.
60	** The UniversalPoison argument is needed to allow the zombies to hunt people, otherwise they wouldn't last more than a few days in hot climates (or even in temperate climate summers) due to the mostly ignored form of BodyHorror: ''maggots''. Wildlife documentaries are usually silent in this matter, but [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myiasis this is how crippled and wounded animals in the field die]]: [[NightmareFuel blowflies lay eggs on damaged, festering tissue, which spawn into thousands of maggots that bury into the flesh, eating and destroying the tissue around and killing the animal in a few nightmarish hours or days]]. On a living animal this is nearly-impossible since insects avoid healthy tissue and moving animals, but a zombie lacks physical sensation or will to defend itself.
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62	* It has been a while since I read the book, but I remember specifically that the survival guide said that not all microbes were killed how by a zombie's body system. This just raises new questions like 1: How come the microbes that remain inside a zombie that are unaffected by Solanum don't replicate out of control and speed up decay? 2: How does the cells of a zombified being get nutrients to live if the zombie has no circulation and digestive system to speak off. Finally 3: How do zombie cells not kill themselves with their own waste products from metabolism if they (again) have no circulation?
63	** Because Solanium turns the body into a perpetual motion machine. It outright says so in the book. It's a LampshadeHanging to how impossible the zombie-phenomenon is in RealLife.
64	** At a couple points in World War Z it's even noted that they're not sure how it works. Research has proven inconclusive, and dissecting dead Zeds can only tell you so much. And Zach ain't big on talking.
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66	* The book says that whenever you're on the move, your clothing should contain absolutely no straps, pockets, pouches, or anything else that a zombie could potentially grab onto. It also has a ''ridiculously'' long list of items and equipment that it insists is essential to carry with you when on the move. If your clothing has no pockets, and you can't carry bags or packs because of the straps, where are you supposed to keep the 40+ pounds of gear you've been told to carry?
67	** Presumably it means ''loose'' straps, pockets, and pouches.
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69	* How exactly would one go about destroying a staircase? The book mentions this ''constantly'' but it's obviously something that's borderline-impossible for someone who doesn't have a bulldozer in their living room.
70	** Perhaps, if your staircase isn't part of the structure (like [[http://www.sixdifferentways.com/photos/spamalot-stairs.jpg these]] for example), you could take an axe to it or find some way to smash the stairs. If it's more like [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Stairway_in_ford_plant_in_LA_from_HABS.jpg/220px-Stairway_in_ford_plant_in_LA_from_HABS.jpg these]] on the other hand...
71	*** Just board it up and put human-operable locks on it. Or take down the railing and build a smooth arched covering over it, which zombies can't crawl up.
72	** Easy stairs tend to be hollow. Smash in the steps and you've now got a hole, a good sledgehammer will do the job.
73	*** That only works if the stairs are made of wood. Most apartment-building staircases are ''solid concrete'' -- safety codes usually demand no less -- which makes Brooks' assertion that apartments are "always" safer than houses a bit of a puzzler.
74	** I take less as destroying, and more as disabling. Throwing enough heavy furniture down a solid staircase will make it impassable for the zombies described.
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76	* Brooks mentions that pistols, while ineffective at long range, can be an absolute life-saver if pressed against a zombie's temple at close quarters and fired. For this reason he calls them essential. However, earlier in the book he mentions that a common hatchet can play almost the exact same role. However, hatchets have some obvious advantages over the pistol (lack of collateral damage, can't run out of ammo, etc) and if pistols don't work at long or short range, then what are they for?
77	** A pistol is a sidearm, more of a fallback weapon. If you're suddenly driven to the ground by a zombie, and it's pressing you down into the dirt, you're not gonna have much room to wind up and chop it with a hatchet. On the other hand, putting a pistol to use (provided you can draw it fast enough) is as easy as shoving the barrel against the head and tightening your finger. Though, keep in mind, jamming the muzzle against something and shooting can cause the action to fail to cycle properly, making your gun non-functional... Unless it's a revolver.
78	** GunsDoNotWorkThatWay: a lot of training (as in "thousands of rounds in a military range") is needed to fire a handgun accurately to a target as small as a moving head. Shoulder-fired long guns on the other side can easily be taught 10 times faster to a green recruit. So an ordinary citizen who lacks the needed training can only use the pistol at very short range, against the zombie's head.
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80	* Just ''why'' is the book shelved in the Humor section of any given bookstore?
81	** It's about zombies, and zombies (probably) aren't real. So it must be a joke. The book does contain a bit of black comedy here and there, after all.
82	** May also have something to do with the fact that Max Brooks, on top of having been an SNL writer at the time, happens to be the son of one of the most recognizable names in comedy.
83	** Where else would you put it, aside from [[SciFiGhetto sci-fi]]?
84	** Most survival guides for fictional events are labeled as humor automatically. It even says "humor" on the back of the book by the bottom. Though considering how [[SeriousBusiness seriously this book takes it's subject matter]], it really should be in the horror section.
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86	* The soldiers at Fort Louis Philippe stay under siege from zombies for three years - and not ''once'', in all that time, do these presumably at least partly trained soldiers cotton onto the fact that a bullet through the head will kill their besiegers??? It's not as if they didn't have loads of ammunition, guns and a safe place to shoot from; the fort being very well supplied was the reason they were able to last so long in the first place. How dumb ''were'' these people?
87	** If the zombies were crowded together closely enough, a head shot might not cause its target to drop immediately, because it'd be wedged between the others. The fort's spotters would've had to keep a ''very'' close eye on such a carcass to notice it wasn't moving any more, or to see it gradually slip down out of view to be trampled by the herd.
88	** The book (at least the comic anyway) mentions they exhausted their ammunition within the first few days. During this time they were too panicked to realize the head shots were the only thing that stopped the zombies.
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90	* Plate armor is mentioned in the book as being cumbersome, but that is far from true. One did have to be quite fit to move properly while being in the armor, but once one gets used to the armor he'll be able to do more-or-less everything than an unarmored person can - including swimming.
91	** Key words being "once one gets used to the armor." The modern person generally doesn't have the opportunity to get used to armor, and once there are already zombies, taking weeks or months to get used to something that cumbersome means being vulnerable for those weeks and months.
92	** The usefulness of plate armor would really depend on your situation and strategy.
93	*** Where it could work really well is if you were engaged in defensive patrolling of a limited area on behalf of a survivor group that controlled some territory, or aggressively raiding a known zombie-infested building in order to clear and secure it. That goes double if your preferred weapon is mêlée range, such as an axe. You’re seeking out a fight, you know you’re going to be at close quarters with the zombies, and it really helps if the zombies can’t bite you. If you’ve got a home base nearby then you don’t have to march a long distance or carry all your food, camping supplies, etc. while you’re wearing the armor, and if you’re part of a group they can help you don and remove the armor, as well as clean and maintain it.
94	*** If you’re a lone operator, on foot for a long journey, or trying your best not to attract zombies, then it’s probably a bad idea. Medieval knights could get away with wearing up to 60 pounds of armor because they were rich guys with servants and horses to help them carry all their baggage, so they didn’t have to bear any load besides the armor itself and whatever weapon they were holding. If you’re a lone wanderer then you won’t have the endurance needed to wear that much armor AND a load of gear and supplies. Historically accurate plate armor is also difficult or sometimes impossible to don without assistance, such as lacing the arm harness to the shoulders of the arming jacket, and buckling the cuirass closed at the side. Finally, even well-made plate armor is kind of noisy to move around in, so your sneaking ability is pretty much negated.
95	*** Also, plate armour way too many edges for a zombie to grab. They're unlikely to be able to actually pull the armour apart quickly and it'll probably do terrible things to their hands but the zombies won't care about the latter and it will hold you in place while other zombies pile on until some zombie gets lucky enough to tear a piece off.
96	*** Mail armor or even linen gambeson might be a more practical alternative, since they are more flexible, can be donned without assistance, and wouldn’t necessarily provide any less protection against bites. Gambeson also doesn’t have the noise problem. It’s not as if the zombies are using spears and axes against you, so plate armor actually might be overkill.
97	*** Mail armour is actually adressed in the book. Brooks claims that it'll protect you from a zombie's teeth, but not the sheer crushing force of a human bite that would leave your arm/leg/ribs/etc broken if not shattered - in much the same way medieval maces also went right through chain mail via crushing forces. Also the fact that said wound could still break the skin [[{{Squick}} from the inside out]], and a zombie could drool infectious saliva into said wound through the mail.
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99	* Why doesn't the author mention semi auto versions of assault rifles? 99.99% of self loading rifles in civilian ownership are semi auto only due to legislation. They have all the perks for a military rifle (low recoil, long range, common ammo) but not once mentioned. Also, does Brooks know anything about the M16?
100	** I get the feeling that Brooks just didn't know they existed. His understanding of firearms in the book is already pretty underwhelming to begin with, so it wouldn't at all surprise me if he just had no idea that there were even semi-auto only versions of the M16. And as for him knowing anything about the M16, very clearly no. His reasons why the M16 is supposedly so bad are either outright falsehoods or exaggerations of actual problems they had. It comes across as he talked to a Vietnam Vet who had a bad experience with their rifle and then based his entire understanding of the M16 on that, barely doing any other research.
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102	* Out of all the various types of armor discussed, there wasn't any mention of an NBC suit, HazmatSuit, or anything similar. While a full military-surplus suit would likely be cumbersome without defending much against bites, a basic painter's coverall plus a plastic face shield would be reasonable protection against infected bodily fluids.
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104	* What the heck happens between the “first cases” and the “overrunning” of an outbreak? There’s almost no transition between a few zombies and entire hordes storming the streets, and Brooks even makes a bit of a point of this in the “Recorded Attacks,” with some outbreaks stating how one zombie bit two people, then skipping to the next day when the streets are overrun.

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