# So you've found a dead body... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 30, 2010, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324 "2010-03-30T11:15:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/1 "2010-03-30T11:15:45Z")
You’re taking a walk in some out of the way place, and discover a body. But not all bodies are created equal, so please rank **from least to most horrifying** the state of the body you found: > [@](#): > > Mummified body ; Body of someone dead for hours ; Skeleton ; Body of someone dead for weeks You can assume that cause of death/age/sex are identical for all four corpses. I know how _I’d_ rank them, but I’m not sure that everyone feels the same, hence a morbid poll. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/2 "2010-03-30T11:18:39Z")
MOST HORRIFYING Body of someone dead for weeks Body of someone dead for hours Mummified body Skeleton LEAST HORRIFYING Rational - the body that’s been dead for weeks is going to have some decomposition, hence the added gross factor. ---
**Author:** ![BaconAndEggs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@BaconAndEggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaconAndEggs)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/3 "2010-03-30T11:21:30Z")
Someone dead for weeks (most horrifying) Someonedead for hours Mummified body Skeleton (least horrifying) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/4 "2010-03-30T11:26:13Z")
I have found a few dead folks in my time, including a kid run over by a truck who had been dead for the length of time it took me to run from next door, on hearing his mother screaming. But I think if I was out walking and found what I \*\*suspected \*\*was a body, I would give it a wide berth and call the cops. I’ve seen CSI, why contaminate the crime scene. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/5 "2010-03-30T12:52:56Z")
Depends on the circumstances - the body of someone recently dead would be deeply disturbing if their death appeared to be the result of foul play or dangerous animals - because the risk could still be present. But assuming it’s just someone who dropped dead of a heart attack or something, Someone dead for weeks (most horrifying) Mummified body Someonedead for hours Skeleton (least horrifying) Finding the body of a child would be more disturbing to me than finding the body of an adult, in similar circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/6 "2010-03-30T13:09:12Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > You’re taking a walk in some out of the way place, and discover a body. I’m not horrified by any of those. I might well be fearful if I were to discover a freshly slain body due to possible imminent danger, but otherwise, they’re just bodies. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/7 "2010-03-30T13:24:43Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I’m not horrified by any of those. I might well be fearful if I were to discover a freshly slain body due to possible imminent danger, but otherwise, they’re just bodies. You’re a tougher person than I am, then. Sure, they’re just bodies - but there’s strong evidence we’ve got all sorts of fairly specialized neural hardware for interacting with other human bodies that are walking around and doing things. The sheer _wrongness_ of one that’s no longer acting within that framework is … unsettling. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/8 "2010-03-30T13:41:11Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I’m not horrified by any of those. I might well be fearful if I were to discover a freshly slain body due to possible imminent danger, but otherwise, they’re just bodies. Yes, but there’s still the level of “Eww! Gross! What is that _smell_??? :: puke ::” and I think that the stench of decay + vomiting = “horror” even if I’m not particularly “fearful” of the corpse. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/9 "2010-03-30T13:54:09Z")
Body of someone dead for weeks Body of someone dead for hours Mummified body Skeleton ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/10 "2010-03-30T14:00:24Z")
Like most others: Body of someone dead for weeks Body of someone dead for hours Mummified body Skeleton ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/11 "2010-03-30T14:01:20Z")
Of the 4, I’ve never encountered an actively decomposing body. I anticipate that would squick me out. The other 3 are about evenly ranked and don’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/12 "2010-03-30T16:16:23Z")
Up until i left in 1999 CHicago pd made their officers bag the dead body’s we ran into. IT was a great deal for the wagon man because he got paid off by the funeral homes he bought the body too… (statute of limitations is up on that i believe) I think that absolute worst are the ones in water… and the next worst would be the ones during the heat wave of 1996… old people were literally cooking in hot apts. I plan on taking my son to the morgue when he turns 17… its will make u appreciate life. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/13 "2010-03-30T16:59:07Z")
Least to most: Skeleton Mummified body Body of someone dead for hours Body of someone dead for weeks The grosser it looks and smells the worst it is. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/14 "2010-03-30T17:29:24Z")
Most to least: Mummified body (interesting under glass, but otherwise, eewww) Dead for weeks Dead for hours Skeleton A friend and I may have found a dead body when we were in 5th grade or so - we were walking on the front grounds of a school for the mentally disabled and there was a kid in the ivy. We just kind of looked at him, and wandered away. I would react completely differently now. BTW, we couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/15 "2010-03-30T20:49:49Z")
Least - Most Mummified body - Skeleton - dead for hours - dead for weeks ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/16 "2010-03-30T20:54:06Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I have found a few dead folks in my time, including a kid run over by a truck who had been dead for the length of time it took me to run from next door, on hearing his mother screaming. But I think if I was out walking and found what I \*\*suspected \*\*was a body, I would give it a wide berth and call the cops. I’ve seen CSI, why contaminate the crime scene. Nice username / post combo. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/17 "2010-03-30T21:11:56Z")
Did my [thread=546108]dog find it[/thread]? Cause, if so, first thing is a hearty “Good Boy, Who’s a Good Boy” and a treat. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/18 "2010-03-30T21:57:34Z")
Mummified body ; Body of someone dead for hours ; Skeleton ; Body of someone dead for weeks In order from most horrifying to least. Body of someone dead for weeks. Mummified body Skeleton Body of someone dead for hours. (Assuming the manner of death didn’t involve decapitation or defenestration or something.) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/19 "2010-03-31T00:57:26Z")
You forgot - “Discovered it by stepping/falling into decomposing body.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/20 "2010-03-31T01:34:59Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You forgot - “Discovered it by stepping/falling into decomposing body.” 😃 Hee-hee. [QUOTE=Tripod] Let’s take a walk, my love Down by the river, my baby Down where we used to go Until the day when we found that body Please don’t forget, my love It was our favorite spot once Please don’t let one rotting corpse Ruin all our memories I remember you slipped down a muddy embankment And landed on a rotting body But please don’t let that spoil that place for you (And don’t forget, we kissed there, too!) \ Aw, get over it baby! Our love is so much bigger than that dead body. I’d hate to think our love hung by the thread of whether we saw a body or not. Hey, look, I kept a memento! It’s the stick we poked it with! Aw, c’mon, baby … \ Oh, the memories were fantastic Except for one guy wrapped in plastic Down where we used to go Until the day when we found that body [/quote] 😛 Let’s see, back to the OP: MOST Dead for weeks Dead for hours Skeleton Mummified LEAST Somehow, I find mummies fascinating. Go figure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324.md?page=2)