CAN WE SURVIVE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE?

Have you ever wondered how the world would be able to survive a zombie apocalypse? If not, don’t worry, because Professor Lewis Dartnell, a professor of science communication at the University of Westminster, has figured out a way of surviving on our behalf. Over the past few years, both he and a group of researchers have sat down and carried out a detailed study focused on what we need to do in order to overcome such a wide scale attack. After all, have you ever watched those TV shows which feature the undead groaning, clawing, and ripping people to pieces, like The Walking Dead, Black Mirror, or Game of Thrones? Because if you have, then you’d know, we have a better chance of winning the lottery than we do of surviving a zombie onslaught.





Well, over the first 8 seasons of The Walking Dead, there has been a body count totaling 1,946 dead characters. Black Mirror, on the other hand, has amassed a spine-chilling 387,063 kills and counting. And as for Game of Thrones, that particular show has killed off 174,373 characters overall. Now to find out more, please have a look at the inforgraphic inserted below, along with a full breakdown on the musicMagpie website.

Now, back to the professor, and as I was saying, both he and his team have been able to compile a guide that will help us survive a zombie apocalypse. So what now follows are a couple of excerpts from that guide which may interest you. Please enjoy

1) STARTING A NEW COMMUNITY: 

- It's very important that you get out of the city and head for an isolated area because zombies tend to congregate in densely populated places, such as a suburban street, a shopping mall, or an industrial estate, which won’t last for very long once the technology disappears.

- Try to head into the countryside in order to find traditional buildings with fireplaces and wells. Ideally, a seaside region near a large forest area would be a good location for a new home, as they normally offer people access to a wide range of natural resources.

- Stay close to other people as there's always safety in numbers. But be careful, because sometimes other people also come with other problems. 

- On a semi-frequent basis attempt to send out scouting parties to find other pockets of survivors, or alternately, rig-up a radio transmitter.


2) WHERE TO HEAD:

- Before setting up a base camp, go to a camping shop so you can obtain warm clothing, waterproofs, and hiking boots, saying so because you’ll be spending a lot of time outdoors and you don’t want to slip and break an ankle if you ever need to run away.

- While there, try obtaining iodine tablets to purify water once the taps run dry, otherwise, you may end up succumbing to a waterborne disease rather than an attack by a horde of zombies.

- If possible, rely on your car’s GPS device instead of a map on your smartphone because there’s a good chance you’ll lose the signal when the power grids go down.

3) SURVIVAL HACKS WITH EVERYDAY ITEMS:

- During the summer months, attempt to regularly use a plastic bottle to disinfect drinking water by placing it in direct sunlight. The UV rays amplified by the bottle will kill off any germs within the water, which is a handy trick known as 'solar disinfection'.

- There are a number of other household items you could also use in times of trouble. This includes an unraveled tampon, which makes for an ideal dressing for a bleeding wound; a condom, which can hold over a gallon of water; as well as a chapstick, some vaseline, and a can of hairspray, all of which are great items that will help start a fire.

- Once the refined fuels have finally fizzled out, you can actually run cars using wood as fuel. This process is called ‘gasification’ and it was commonly used during WWII.

4) HOW TO PREVENT SICKNESS:

- For fairly obvious reasons, always dig your DIY loos 15 meters away from your water source and downhill from the wind.

- For the sake of cleanliness, you can make soap from scratch by soaking water through the ashes of burned seaweed to extract soda, and then reacting this with slaked lime (made from roasted chalk or limestone) to make caustic soda. Boil this with lard, or any other animal fat or plant oil, to eventually make soap.

- If you injure yourself, attend to the wound immediately by disinfecting it with alcohol and then closing the wound with superglue.

5) HOW, AND WHAT, TO FORAGE:

- In the early stages of a zombie attack, you can scavenge for food from abandoned supermarkets or distribution centers, keeping in mind that you will have to find canned foods first as they have a longer life expectancy. Please note: If you don’t have a can opener, place it down on the ground, top first, and grind it in flat circles to wear away the lid.

- If the power grid goes out, don’t worry, as you can stay connected by scavenging for mobile generators which are normally located near roadworks.

- When the diesel runs out, which it will, unfortunately, you will have to start looking for renewable fuels, so scavenge for solar panels or small wind turbines as an alternative.

- The best kind of rechargeable batteries are deep-cycle lead-acid batteries. Coincidentally, they are usually found on one of the most practical places to head to after an apocalypse: a golf course. Or to be more specific about it, a golf buggy located on a golf course.

So there you have it, folks. A couple of tips on how to survive a zombie apocalypse. Now for any more information please head on over to musicMagpie or Professor Lewis Dartnell's twitter account.