Death is a one-way street, but the transition can be eventful. The body is on a final journey, undergoing a series of bizarre changes as it transforms from life to lifeless.
Here are some weird things dead bodies do:
1. Make noise
It's frightening to think about hearing a corpse talk. Oftentimes, dead bodies will produce involuntary groans and moans.
Human-like grunts and groans are produced when cadavers are moved after death because the air inside the windpipe vibrates the vocal cords.
Also, when the body is turned over by coroners or morticians, these sounds can be heard when the air from the contents of the lungs leaves.
2. Get aroused
This may offer some logic behind necrophilia—sexual attraction to dead bodies. A dead man might have an erection as a result of blood rushing to the lowest part of the body, the genital area, which can cause priapism.
This reaction is rare but can also occur in dead women, leading to enlarged labia and swelling of the clitoris.
3. Aware of its surroundings
Many people speak about how life flashes before their eyes before death. After death, the brain still has some awareness that it is dead or about to die.
A study of 2,060 cardiac arrest survivors found that around 40% were still aware of their surroundings. The average time for awareness after death is 10–20 seconds. Further proof of this is how severed heads producing EEG waves.
4. Explode
The body can explode after death. The Bible tells the story of how Judas, the betrayer, fell headlong after death and exploded.
The temperature of a corpse typically lowers, but there are instances where the temperature rises, a condition known as "postmortem hyperthermia."
Numerous factors, including drugs, trauma, and even signals in the brain before death, can contribute to this rise in body temperature. The corpse can continue to heat up and explode.
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5. Give birth
Pregnant, dead women can give birth. Coffin births, which occur inside coffins, are the opposite of giving birth while alive. Here's why they happen: the pressure of gases within the deceased pushes the foetus out, but the foetus must be positioned correctly for this to happen.
6. Move
Imagine a dead body standing or sitting up. That sounds scary, right? But they do move. Due to nerve signals causing them to contract or relax, dead bodies can move after death, such as through jerking, gripping, and finger clenching.
The body uses its remaining energy via the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to power its final processes. Unusual motions may be caused by electrocution, temperature changes, excessive calcium, or violent deaths. This process typically takes place between death and rigour mortis.
7. Eliminate waste
Don’t be shocked if you see a dead body excreting faeces or urinating. The body changes during death, including the relaxation of muscles that control internal processes like the excretion of urine and faeces.
Postmortem elimination happens when the brain stops sending impulses to keep the sphincter muscles clenched, causing them to relax. The amount of food and liquid in the system at death as well as how the person died determines what the bladder and bowels will leak out.