# Suppose a corpse was sealed in a vacuum casket and... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2009, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388 "2009-02-04T07:08:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/1 "2009-02-04T07:08:55Z")
## I read a short story many years ago in some ISAAC ASIMOV PRESENTS type knock off magazine, though with more of a horror bent. In it, a man digging in his garden unearths a century old grave, in which, under thick glass, is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, perfectly preserved. Somehow he realizes the coffin is vacuum sealed. In any case, at some point his inner necrophiliac gets the better of him or he has to see if the Sleeping Beauty thing will work or whatever, and so he breaks through the glass to see if she can be revived. When the air hits her body for the first time in over a century, she decomposes pretty much instantly. (As I mentioned, it was a knockoff of pulp periodicals, so we’re not talking high quality writing.) So, watching a documentary about a sealed lead/wax/wood/glass coffin on NAT’L GEO tonight I remembered that short story. I know of course that the body isn’t going to go from perfectly preserved to mummy instantly as in the story, but- Suppose two bodies are preserved in two separate coffins, both of them completely pumped of air and stored in a very temperate climate and darkness- there is no exposure to air or elements or light of any kind. There is going to be some decomposition of course due to anaerobic bacteria and other factors, but generally the bodies are about as perfectly protected as you can get without actually freezing them in liquid nitrogen or what-not. Suppose one body is embalmed as well as can be in the 19th century (which was actually pretty good I understand- Lincoln’s body was in excellent repair and recognizable from the river of embalming fluid pumped through it during his very long bout of funerals), the other one is not. Suddenly, both coffins are opened. Would there be any immediate (or, let’s say, within an hour or so) effect after the seal was broken, or would just gradual decomposition resume? Would there be a significant difference between the embalmed and the unembalmed bodies? Odd question, but there have been odder. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/2 "2009-02-04T07:50:03Z")
I would think it’d be just like taking meat out of the freezer and putting it on the counter. Decomposition is a process, and vacuum sealing/cold halts that process. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/3 "2009-02-04T08:29:56Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Suppose two bodies are preserved in two separate coffins, both of them completely pumped of air and stored in a very temperate climate and darkness- there is no exposure to air or elements or light of any kind. There is going to be some decomposition of course due to anaerobic bacteria and other factors, but generally the bodies are about as perfectly protected as you can get without actually freezing them in liquid nitrogen or what-not. Actually, vacuum-sealing the body may result in worse preservation than allowing it to be exposed to air. > [@Cecil](#): > > If the body has had the misfortune to have been sealed in an airtight metal casket, though, anaerobic bacteria–that is, those that thrive in an airless environment–will have had a chance to get to work, and the body will have putrefied, meaning it will be partially liquefied. The smell in such cases is indescribable. Simple wooden caskets, believe it or not, often result in more gradual decomposition. [Column: If I dug up a body, what would it look like?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/84/if-i-dug-up-a-body-what-would-it-look-and-smell-like) ---
**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:** [February 4, 2009, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/4 "2009-02-04T12:25:36Z")
A vacuum packed body would have the cells walls under stress and more likely to rupture. Try out a casket filled with inert gases. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/5 "2009-02-04T12:47:35Z")
Pics? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/6 "2009-02-04T13:18:29Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > [Column: If I dug up a body, what would it look like?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/84/if-i-dug-up-a-body-what-would-it-look-and-smell-like) Thank you. My memory had somehow stored away some of those phrases verbatim and it was driving me nuts wondering where I’d heard them so I could provide a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/7 "2009-02-04T18:54:50Z")
A few years ago-1990s- when the body of (murdered civil rights leader) Medgar Evers was exhumed for an autopsy, the body was in a near miraculous state of preservation; he looked like he’d been buried for a few days instead of 30 years. It was attributed to vapor lock. Any idea what would cause this? A morbid thing I’ve wondered about my own family is my about my father’s remains. He died during a very heavy snowstorm (almost unheard of in Alabama) and the weather never once got above freezing the entire time his corpse was above ground (though of course the mortuary and church had heat). There was snow on the ground when he was buried and then it snowed again. I’ve wondered if this sped up/slowed down/or had no effect on his decomposition. ETA: I’ve no intention of ever finding out, mind, but one does wonder. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/8 "2009-02-04T19:04:00Z")
This book talks about digging up 3 bodies that were buried in the far north of Canada for over 100 years. The bodies were in much better shape then people expected. [http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Time-Fate-Franklin-Expedition/dp/1550546163](http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Time-Fate-Franklin-Expedition/dp/1550546163) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/9 "2009-02-04T19:16:00Z")
One of my favorite David Letterman jokes was a few years ago when an 18th century coffin was discovered that, due to unintentional circumstances, had been essentially had developed something like a vacuum seal around the time it was buried. Scientists actually opened it under controlled circumstances to study the air trapped inside, something to do with wondering about the air of the 18th century. Letterman: “They said the air of the 18th century had nowhere near as much methane or carbon dioxide, but that it absolutely reeked of rotting flesh”. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/10 "2009-02-04T19:19:10Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Pics? Y’know, it’s usually the ones with the sick sense of humor who manage to get a laugh out of me… 😃 S^G ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/11 "2009-02-04T19:30:44Z")
Doesn’t water BOIL at room temperature in a vacuum? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/12 "2009-02-04T19:54:56Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Doesn’t water BOIL at room temperature in a vacuum? Yes and no. It can vaporize. It doesn’t boil off like it on your stove, however. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/13 "2009-02-04T20:43:50Z")
So a vacuum isn’t going to remain a vaccum for very longm, if it has a boiling body in it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/14 "2009-02-04T21:54:13Z")
It didn’t involve a vacuum, but in the mid-1990s I visited the Catacombs of Palermo, where you can see a two-year-old girl embalmed and buried in 1920. She is amazingly well preserved. [Picture here.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalia_Lombardo) ---
**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:** [February 4, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/15 "2009-02-04T22:00:41Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Yes and no. It can vaporize. It doesn’t boil off like it on your stove, however. Not sure what you mean - water boiling in a vacuum looks pretty much like water boiling on a stove. It’s not hot, but it looks very much the same - here’s a Youtube video of it: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LxtAeGtL9SE/hqdefault.jpg "Boiling Water in Less Than 30 Seconds? - Vapor Pressure Experiment") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxtAeGtL9SE) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/16 "2009-02-04T22:08:44Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > A vacuum packed body would have the cells walls under stress and more likely to rupture. > > Try out a casket filled with inert gases. Human cells don’t have have a [cell wall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_wall). ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/17 "2009-02-04T22:57:09Z")
Okay… let’s put the corpse in a sealed, airtight container, and fill the container with an inert gas (nitrogen?). Then irradiate the corpse to kill off any aerobic bacteria. How long would the body last in this situation? ---
**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:** [February 4, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/18 "2009-02-04T22:59:40Z")
Dunno - some of the decomposition processes are caused by enzymes, aren’t they? Those wouldn’t necessarily be stopped by irradiation and/or anaerobic conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/19 "2009-02-04T23:04:03Z")
Here’s a cadaver I prepared before the show… ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-corpse-was-sealed-in-a-vacuum-casket-and/484388/20 "2009-02-05T04:43:55Z")
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