Do Bodies Explode?

The question is asked all the time when we hear a crazy story on the news, or someone watches Violet blow up on Willy Wonka one too many times, “Is that real? Do bodies explode? Can that really happen?” The answer is no, people don’t just expand into blueberries and have to be rolled away by a fictional orange people. It’s just not possible. What can happen is a natural occurrence that can be explained by science, and has nothing to do with fruit.

Urban myth or fact, can a body really explode?

Feedlot operators and farmers alike, know that exploded bodies are regular occurrence.They see it all the time when livestock dies and is left out too long. What happens is that the natural bacteria and enzymes within a recently deceased being, begin to break down their host. Spreading from organ to organ, the bacteria digests and liquefies the tissue. This decomposition process results in gas (methane and hydrogen sulfide) that expands, swelling the body until it bursts. The fact that most of these bodies are outside in the heat can quicken the process. So unless a deceased animal is moved quickly, all of its pieces will have to be located and moved later on.

However, this isn’t just a bovine phenomenon. Without intervention, any animal has the potential of bursting under the right circumstances. Incase you forgot, humans are technically animals too.

Some Noteworthy Body Explosions:

1. In 2004 the decomposing body of a sperm whale, while being transferred to a location for necropsy (an autopsy performed on an animal), exploded in a crowded urban area of Taiwan, covering shop fronts and curious onlookers in blubber and other putrefied material.

2. In 2009 A woman in Jupiter, FL died of old age in her condo. She was not found by the condo association until two weeks later after her abdomen burst filling the surrounding units with an unbelievable odor, and for one lucky tennant, fluids seeping through her ceiling and damaging both ceiling and walls. She later sued for damages and repairs due to the apartment association’s neglect.

3. In 2012 a 6’4” 380 lb man exploded in his casket at a Texas funeral home. 30 year old Robert Cavazos Jr. made a lasting impression on his mourning family and friends when decomposition gases built up and caused him to explode, cracking his cement lined casket, and revealing that he was buried in just his underwear. The funeral home denies neglect and points out that they actually saved the family $450 not embalming him. Since embalming is not a legal requirement, but more of a religious preference, they were only held liable for the trauma that accompanies seeing a family member explode.

4. Currently, a problem exists in a Melbourne mausoleum, in which crypts that were not properly sealed, began leaking gas and fluids from exploded bodies within. Not unfamiliar with poor installation issues, the facility also boasts 6 large stained glass windows installed backwards and evidence of a previously flooded lower crypt. People shopping for a place to rest their loved ones were not impressed.

So yes, under the right circumstances, bodies can explode. It’s not exactly spontaneous, but actually comes as a natural side effect of decomposition and putrefaction. Other than the enzymes and bacteria playing their part, temperature, and environment will either slow down or speed up the process. Water will double the decomposition rate of a body compared to one on land. Burial will slow the process, cutting off most of the oxygen needed for the decomposition bacteria to survive. However, getting a protective casket with rubber gaskets that seal in the body isn’t a great idea for preservation. Sealing those gases in will only build more pressure, eventually exploding the coffin itself.

True preservation, the type you see when bodies are displayed for years and years, can only be achieved through mummification processes. Opting out for cremation doesn’t seem so bad now (unless you have a pacemaker, those explode in extreme heat).

For more information on odd occurrences and natural disasters, visit the Chicago Water Damage Co. website and learn all sorts of wonderous things.