And then this happened

Tetsu

Scout
http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2011/05/cd ... pocalypse/

The following information is taken from the link above:

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not known for its comic hijinks. Indeed, the agency’s data and disease reports are typically serious, straight-forward and well, dull.

So imagine the buzz in public health circles when the CDC issued something kind of funny: an advisory on a potential zombie attack (and other emergencies) that was so inundated upon its release Wednesday that the site crashed, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Well, “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse” is back up again, and here’s a taste:

There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. Take a zombie apocalypse for example. That’s right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency…

In movies, shows, and literature, zombies are often depicted as being created by an infectious virus, which is passed on via bites and contact with bodily fluids. Harvard psychiatrist Steven Schoolman wrote a (fictional) medical paper on the zombies presented in Night of the Living Dead and refers to the condition as Ataxic Neurodegenerative Satiety Deficiency Syndrome caused by an infectious agent…

The rise of zombies in pop culture has given credence to the idea that a zombie apocalypse could happen. In such a scenario zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. The proliferation of this idea has led many people to wonder “How do I prepare for a zombie apocalypse?”

Well, we’re here to answer that question for you, and hopefully share a few tips about preparing for real emergencies too!

So what do you need to do before zombies…or hurricanes or pandemics for example, actually happen? First of all, you should have an emergency kit in your house. This includes things like water, food, and other supplies to get you through the first couple of days before you can locate a zombie-free refugee camp (or in the event of a natural disaster, it will buy you some time until you are able to make your way to an evacuation shelter or utility lines are restored). Below are a few items you should include in your kit, for a full list visit the CDC Emergency page.

The WSJ reports:

Zombie preparedness is the brainchild, so to speak, of communications staff who noticed that traffic took off when zombies were mentioned during one of its Twitter sessions on Japan and radiation, says Dave Daigle, a CDC spokesperson who led the new campaign."
 
I was actually thinking about the zombie apocalypse and such the other day and it came to me how useful chainmail is against zombies. It would prevent scratching and can protect from bites. After all they do use it for shark diving.
 
Harsh atmosphere? Exploring the mystery of the deep? Wading through Main St. crowded with the undead?

Get your Trouble Bubble 9000®!

It's interstellar design makes survival easy under any condition! It's spherical limbs make it simple to just roll about when walking is impossible. Need to potty? Trouble Bubble 9000® has a vacuum powered waste disposal unit that turns that useless waste into a poo-missile capable of removing most any obstacle from your immediate view*.

Not totally convinced?

Trouble Bubble 9000® makes bacon, and feeds it to you with tiny robot hands within it's cranial dome. Come on, zombies, bacon, survival-horrors? Nerds can't help but submit to Trouble Bubble 9000®.

12537632111_SPLASH.jpg

Actual Trouble Bubble® suit may not appear as depicted
*Most obstacles may be phased by poo-missle. Obstacles must be sentient or dislike being covered in poo. Removal from view may not be permanent. Possible ragification in target may occur. If target becomes enraged, we at Trouble Bubble® Co. do not suggest you be a hero.
 
I'll take 2
 
It is possible that some diseases today (such as rabies) could mutate into a virus that can kill the higher congnitive functions of the brain while leaving the basic instincts in tact. Agression, hunger, etc would all still be there and we all know now Rabies is transmitted so...
 
the only thing with rabies is that it kills its victims relatively quick and it is quite under control. I can't foresee an outbreak of rabies being compared to the zombie apocalypse with out significant mutation.

Regardless, if a pack of rabid humans tried to break into my house, do not doubt for a moment that I'm not going to grab my Ithaca 37 and start going for headshots.
 
Dom said:
the only thing with rabies is that it kills its victims relatively quick and it is quite under control.

Under control in America. It kills almost 55,000 people worldwide. Most plagues have/will start in 3rd world countries and with an incubation period of possible months, it would be easy to have the infected target travel to just about anywhere. Death upon onset of serious symptoms takes place in 2-10 days but someone delusional and/or aggressive enough can bite a whole bunch of people in those 2-10 days. Now, have it mutate so that it doesn't cause encephalitis but instead destroys higher reasoning functions and that death time can be indefinite.

Now, add to that such things as Cordyceps unilateralis - which is a parasitic spore that turns ants into zombies, having them travel to the end of a leaf and bite down at noon and hang there until their brains erupt with new spore stalks - and it isn't as far fetched as it seems to have a virus mutate into a form that gives it a greater survival/reproduction rate.


Um... Not that I've given this a lot of thought. :)

OK, I have, but only for a more scientific background for my own Zombie LARP :)
 
most people who contract rabies usually die of dehydration because of the hydrophobia related to it. 2-3 days with no water will kill you long before encephalitis.
 
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