# Decapitation: Does the head remain conscious after seperation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704 "2002-08-20T04:22:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Adam\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Adam\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adam_P)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704/1 "2002-08-20T04:22:50Z")
Everyone’s probably familiar with French Revolution stories involving the decapitated heads of guillotined prisoners appearing to remain conscious for, in some stories, up to 30 seconds after death. Usually, in these stories, they attempt to speak or stare uncomprehendingly at the spectators. Marie Antioinette supposedly mouthed a prayer for a couple of seconds while her head was being held aloft. Whether humans remain conscious after decapitation would seem to be pretty hard to confirm for fairly obvious reasons. But one victim of The Terror, whose name escapes me, was apparently so interested in the subject that he arranged an experiment with several colleagues who would be present at his execution. After he was guillotined, so he told them, he would blink his eyes for as long as possible until death. Following his decapitation, witnesses reported seeing him blink 15 times. Truth, urban legend, or somewhere in-between? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704/2 "2002-08-20T04:29:00Z")
[The Master Speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_221a.html) ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704/3 "2002-08-20T04:29:35Z")
The Master [speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_221a.html), and just for good measure after some feedback, he [speaks again](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_262.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704/4 "2002-08-20T04:31:30Z")
Uh…let’s try that [second link](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_262.html) again. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704/5 "2002-08-20T04:31:37Z")
[And Speaks Again](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_262.html) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704/6 "2002-08-20T05:20:37Z")
Looks like you guys split the simulpost double-header… ---
**Author:** ![Babar714](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Babar714](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babar714)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704/7 "2002-08-20T06:55:00Z")
I think it’s time to remind some of the newbies that there is an archive section at [www.straightdope.com](http://www.straightdope.com). You can’t really be a true doper unless you actually read Cecil. ---
**Author:** ![Adam\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Adam\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adam_P)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704/8 "2002-08-20T15:09:23Z")
Actually, I did look before I posted and didn’t find anything. Thanx for the link. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitation-does-the-head-remain-conscious-after-seperation/124704/9 "2002-08-22T04:55:23Z")
**Adam** After you search the _archives_ on the main page to see what Cecil had to say about a subject, the you should rememember to search the message board for a thread about the topic. If you had, you would have discovered the following:[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=242&highlight=decapitation](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=242&highlight=decapitation) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=23462&highlight=decapitation](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=23462&highlight=decapitation) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=30014&highlight=decapitation](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=30014&highlight=decapitation)