# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/21 "2010-03-31T02:13:57Z")
I would be more alarmed to find a fresh corpse simply cause you wouldn’t know if the killer was still around and saw you, see the body and planned on killing you to. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/22 "2010-03-31T02:21:42Z")
Body of someone dead for weeks Mummified body Skeleton Body of someone dead for hours Mummies freak me out. Too much Goosebumps as a child, I guess. They just feel…wrong. Same with skeletons. Uncanny valley. Don’t get me wrong. The hours long one would be freaky, too. Not AS creepy though. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/23 "2010-03-31T03:15:48Z")
> [@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. Yeah but, horrified doesn’t really imply that your scared of the body, but shocked and distressed by it. So it looks like not everyone would rank them like me, which is as I thought. Least to Most: skeleton body dead for hours mummified body body dead for weeks ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/24 "2010-03-31T04:41:56Z")
I’ve seen too many dead bodies over the years for them to be horrifying in any way. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/25 "2010-03-31T07:02:50Z")
Ohh man the first thing I’d do is go get my friends to go look at it. We’d follow the train tracks to find it and get a reward! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/26 "2010-03-31T14:00:08Z")
Well first things first, regardless of how long it’s been dead I would be _damn sure_ to poke it with a stick. ---
**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 31, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/27 "2010-03-31T15:48:20Z")
Least to Most: archaeological remains skeleton body dead for hours mummified body body dead for weeks decomposing or fresh body that falls on you from rafters or storage locker warm body surrounded by fresh, still liquid splashes of blood on walls and puddles on floor friend runs up to other side of window or door, screams and is dragged away, splashes ensue Y’know, I think I have to start watching more romantic comedies and less zombie horror. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/28 "2010-03-31T17:36:47Z")
MOST HORRIFYING Body of someone dead for weeks Mummified body Dog drags home skeletal forearm as toy Body of someone dead for hours Skeleton LEAST HORRIFYING ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/29 "2010-03-31T19:20:57Z")
Do I get to poke it with a stick? Cause I’ve always wanted to do that. Sorry. someone beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/30 "2010-03-31T19:29:00Z")
I can’t say that any would be horrifying. As **Quartz** said, they’re just bodies. The only one I would approach any closer than necessary to determine that it is indeed a body would be the hours dead in which case I’d have to determine that it was indeed dead. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/31 "2010-03-31T21:03:16Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Well first things first, regardless of how long it’s been dead I would be _damn sure_ to poke it with a stick. Remember, don’t just go straight for the eye. You have to work yourself up to it. (paraphrased Bart Simpson quote) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/32 "2010-03-31T21:30:06Z")
Rank is the opperative word, therefore Weeks, hours merely because that’ll have the biggest inpact on my day, not that it’s horrifying, ‘ABC’s, no they’re really dead, then don’t disturb the evidence, we’ve got to let the authorities know.’ Mummy, skeleton, ‘oh cool.’ ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/33 "2010-03-31T21:32:16Z")
MOST Dead for weeks Dead for hours Mummified Skeleton LEAST I think worse than any of these would be one that was dead for a few days. Enough to decompose but not long enough for most of the stench to go away (as I would presume it would do in the space of weeks.) Skeletons and mummies don’t freak me out–they’re far enough removed from “human” that they wouldn’t affect me like a “real” body would. At least I don’t think so, having never found any of the above. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/34 "2010-03-31T21:39:58Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > Skeletons and mummies don’t freak me out… Oh yeah? What if the skeleton or the mummy were dancing? Did you ever think about that? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/35 "2010-03-31T22:15:21Z")
Somebody’s who’s been dead for 5 seconds. Whatever killed him might still be _around…_ ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/36 "2010-04-01T00:13:41Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Oh yeah? What if the skeleton or the mummy were dancing? Did you ever think about that? Depends–what dance? 🙂 Besides, if they’re dancing, they’re not dead, they’re _undead_. And that’s a whole different kettle of entrails. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/37 "2010-04-01T00:40:47Z")
By far the most disturbing would be the fresh body - because I’d have to check to see if they were still alive if it wasn’t obvious, I’d want to know what happened/be frightened there was a killer lurking, potentially have to deal with the fall-out (family arriving on the scene and grieving, criminal investigation, etc). Secondly the rotten one, because that’s messy and stinks, although I’m much less disgusted by decay than your average person it seems. Mummies and skeletons would just be kinda cool, but creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/38 "2010-04-01T00:43:55Z")
:eek: Dance of the dead?! ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/39 "2010-04-01T01:10:56Z")
Weeks Hours Mummy Bones. In fact, bones would be kinda cool. Can I keep some? Muahhaha. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324/40 "2010-04-01T10:58:00Z")
Hmmm…well, it depends. What kind of “mummified” are we talking about, here? Like “wrapped up, tastefully, in a peaceful pose, and jutting out of a sand dune,” or “John Torrington”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-youve-found-a-dead-body/534324.md?page=3)