Endless Supplies of Gas and Other Nitpicks: It Doesn't Make Sense

[John Potts]

Bruinsfan Doesn't dog food have insufficiently-ground bone meal that could perforate a person's GI tract if eaten?

 

Sure, the dog food might kill L'il Asskicker - OTOH, starvation definitely will. It's a question of priorities - you've got to weigh the risks in the ZA.

Edited January 18, 2015 by John Potts

[kikismom]

Regarding spam,  it is said to be popular to some  when it came out because it tastes like long pig.  

 

[Mu Shu]

Oh wow,   I'm a major prize winner.    I've never won a major prize before!

 

I ate plenty of dog food as a child.   My G.I. tract is made of metal.

[AngelaHunter]

Sure, the dog food might kill L'il Asskicker - OTOH, starvation definitely will.

 

That's probably a relatively untapped treasure trove of food! Odds say that most people didn't rush to the pet food store when the ZA struck.

 

If they went to pet supply stores and took the really high quality dog food, like Merrick which is made from human-grade ingredients (honestly the smell of the "Cowboy Cookout" flavour made MY mouth water) they'd be eating really well. Better than chowing down on tapeworm-infested sqewwwels anyway.

[Tippi Blevins]

Yeah, some of that Merrick canned food has whole chicken thighs and wings cooked right in the cans with the veggies and gravy. My dogs love that stuff. You'd have to fight them for it in the apocalypse. Or now, really.

 

I'm surprised these people don't all have nasty parasites, especially Daryl eating raw game. I've seen Monsters Inside Me. You get the wrong fleck of something in your mouth or eye and you end up infested with worms.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Tippi Blevins

[CletusMusashi]

He keeps a ready supply of Acme Worming Gel in his hair for just such an occasion.

[AngelaHunter]

Merrick canned food has whole chicken thighs and wings cooked right in the cans

 

Ever try..I mean, did you ever smell the Grammy's Pot Pie? No wonder my dog used to stand up and spin with joy when she saw the can.

 

And actually, I must say I think it was silly to show Daryl eating raw squirrell. Anyone who grew up hunting and eating game as he did would know better.

 

He keeps a ready supply of Acme Worming Gel in his hair for just such an occasion.

 

Bwahaha! Or picked up a few applications of Advantage at a vet clinic. Now someone just needs to hold him still long enough to dose him.

[kikismom]

Daryl, using that crossbow must be very strenuous...let me rub your neck, right here between the shoulder blades. Now don't scratch back here for 24 hours.

[Haleth]

He might need a cone so it doesn't get infected.

[CletusMusashi]

Holy crap, I would have LOVED to see Herschel treating everyone dog-style (no, not like that!)

Cones around the neck when injured, flea collar on Rick, maybe even getting Shane neutered...

[HalcyonDays]

Ever try..I mean, did you ever smell the Grammy's Pot Pie? No wonder my dog used to stand up and spin with joy when she saw the can.

 

My dog hated it - wouldn't touch it. Vegetables, you see. And picky. However there are a few other premium brands that were 99% beef or chicken, the rest water. No fillers at all.

 

In the zombie apocalyspe, canned/tinned meat and veg will be your friend though. Let's all sing *SPAM SPAM SPAM WONDERFUL SPAM*

And hope not to get Botulism!

[Tippi Blevins]

Ever try..I mean, did you ever smell the Grammy's Pot Pie? 

 

Heh... heh... No. I'm vegetarian until the apocalypse and then all bets will probably be off. My dogs' favorites are Smothered Comfort (which sounds like a euphemism for something Carol would do) and Game Day Tailgate. They smell like canned chunky-style soup to me. I did eat some Milk Bones as a kid, though. They were bland as hell, but would probably last well into the end times.

[Nashville]

Heh... heh... No. I'm vegetarian until the apocalypse and then all bets will probably be off. My dogs' favorites are Smothered Comfort (which sounds like a euphemism for something Carol would do) and Game Day Tailgate. They smell like canned chunky-style soup to me. I did eat some Milk Bones as a kid, though. They were bland as hell, but would probably last well into the end times.

Plus, they keep your teeth clean.

[kikismom]

 My dogs' favorites are Smothered Comfort (which sounds like a euphemism for something Carol would do)

At this very moment, someone in the TWD writer's room is pounding the table yelling "Dammit! That would have been such an awesome episode title!"

 

(could have worked for Lizzie and Judith as well)

Edited January 20, 2015 by kikismom

[Haleth]

Have TPTB ever addressed why there are so few children walkers?  I find it hard to believe it would be because of any discomfort seeing little baby zombies, but you'd think there would be some scattered in the herds.  How many zombie soccer moms in minivans have we seen, yet there are no kids?  Just wondering.

[kikismom]

Have TPTB ever addressed why there are so few children walkers?  I find it hard to believe it would be because of any discomfort seeing little baby zombies, but you'd think there would be some scattered in the herds.  How many zombie soccer moms in minivans have we seen, yet there are no kids?  Just wondering.

TPTB haven't spoken; but many viewers on different forums think it is because you have to have some body left to be a walker; if you remember what was left of Luke (which Beth and Daryl saw on the RR tracks) he was pretty much devoured.

Don't forget the baby car-seats seen on the highway etc. There was spatter but nothing else remaining.

I think the only reason there was a little walker in the room at the abused women's shelter was that the child was bit before they locked the door, turned first, and bit the mother? OR they both stayed locked in the room and the child starved/died of dehydration first and bit the mother. Something like that that didn't involve any other people to turn and eat the kid ----or other people to have a weapon and be willing or knowledegable to put the kid down.

In an open situation, a child would be the most defenseless.

Also, the lack of older people---they would be the next least able to fight, to scavenge, and likely to pass from natural causes without meds, care-giving etc. Just think how many seniors are dependent on diabetes/heart&blood pressure meds. You see quite a few "elderly" walkers; not many elderly survivors.

Edited January 20, 2015 by kikismom

[CletusMusashi]

A lot of child walkers are stuck in places we won't see them. Attics, basements, bedrooms. Even of those who were out wandering the streets, no doubt a lot of them got stuck in holes and ditches that a taller zombie could have pulled itself out of. Also, I would assume little zombies are easier to kill. As long as they don't all sneak up on you through a cornfield or something.

[Watcher0363]

Babies are the veal of the zombie lifestyle choice set.

[BrokenRemote]

My dog hated it - wouldn't touch it. Vegetables, you see. And picky. However there are a few other premium brands that were 99% beef or chicken, the rest water. No fillers at all.

 

In the zombie apocalyspe, canned/tinned meat and veg will be your friend though. Let's all sing *SPAM SPAM SPAM WONDERFUL SPAM*

And hope not to get Botulism!

 

I had a dog, a huuuuge chocolate lab that could somehow lick around peas and carrots with his huge ol' tongue.

 

I wonder whether there'd be an advantage to having a dog in the ZA?  I mean, yeah it'd take up resources, but some kinds of dogs could probably find their own food as well as some for you.  They could warn of coming walkers, and maybe even help fight them.  I know I'm biased because I'd be the one who died early on in the apocalypse carrying my cats around with me and I feel sad watching the show thinking about what must have befallen all the pets, but when disasters happen there are often packs of stray dogs wandering around...I can't believe the walkers ate all the dogs.  Where are they?  And would a big, protective dog be an asset in the apocalypse?

[CletusMusashi]

The biggest problem with dogs is that they're loud. It's one of the things that's been bred into them, because their original purpose, more than anything else, was to serve as a warning system. When wolves see something weird, they get quiet. When dogs see something weird, they bark their asses off. I think any place that you lived and had dogs would eventually end up with as many Walkers around it as the prison did. Even cats, when they're in heat at least, would be dangerously noisy to have around. Besides, if protein is scarce, you might want to eat all the mice and rats yourself...

Edited January 21, 2015 by CletusMusashi

[kikismom]

 

I wonder whether there'd be an advantage to having a dog in the ZA? 

I thought they might be good at attacking walkers, but I remembered that without shots for rabies, distemper, and think of parvo or heartworms...probably more likely to be heartbreaking to keep a pet.

[CletusMusashi]

And we're really not sure how toxic zombie flesh is to dogs. We've seen them eating them, but we have no idea whether or not they died a few hours later.

[Tippi Blevins]

My Jack Russell would either get me eaten by zombies by barking, or eat me himself when I didn't find him super premium food in a timely manner.

[walnutqueen]

I had a Queensland Blue Heeler who never barked.  Some cats are vocal, others, not.  My last remaining indoor cat is the best watchcat ever.  He alerts to the fucking mailman every single day, and there isn't anything untoward outside our home that doesn't catch his attention and cause him to wake me up - without meowing.  I'll be feeding him before myself, even in the ZA (that's how I roll).  Also, good luck to anyone in my neck of the woods looking for pet food of any kind - that's the FIRST thing I'm pillaging.  :-)

[Bongo Fury]

And would a big, protective dog be an asset in the apocalypse?

 

I'd take all the big, protective, tender, meaty, mouth wateringly delicious dogs I possibly could. I think dogs and pigs would be the cattle of the ZA, with walker flesh as their food source.

 

And we're really not sure how toxic zombie flesh is to dogs. We've seen them eating them, but we have no idea whether or not they died a few hours later.

 

I think we saw dogs eating walker in Clear, driving in the car scene. That was well over a year into the ZA, I think the experimental stage with wild dogs eating walker has long been decided. If eating walker killed a dog, the only dogs still alive would be the ones who refuse to eat walker.

 

I know people are squeamish about eating dog, but in a ZA where survival is so tenuous, all options must be explored.

 

Another good use of dogs would be as bait like Morgan did in clear. Lure walkers in with a dog and trap them somehow; snare, impale, etc. A secure base like the prison or Terminus, or even Woodbury, you can't rely on one fence/wall for safety, you need layers of protection. So set up a dog about 1/2 mile from your base in a secure cage/pen (something to keep the dog in and the walkers out), and surround it with snares and traps. Then each day you have a group that goes around checking the 'trap line', dispatching any snared walkers and leave some walker chow for the dog. If they thinned out the walkers in the area around the prison, there never would have been a buildup along the fence.

[walnutqueen]

I know people are squeamish about eating dog, but in a ZA where survival is so tenuous, all options must be explored.

 

 

Yup, the ZA would definitely cause me to explore the vegetarian/pescatarian option!

[BrokenRemote]

I'm already a vegetarian. I think I would eat whatever I could find in an apocalypse (sad how my phone has learned to anticipate my typing Apocolypse more than any other word starting with ap). But I'd still lean more toward vegetables because the of the smell of rotting flesh that has to be freaking everywhere.

[Tippi Blevins]

I'm already a vegetarian. I think I would eat whatever I could find in an apocalypse (sad how my phone has learned to anticipate my typing Apocolypse more than any other word starting with ap). But I'd still lean more toward vegetables because the of the smell of rotting flesh that has to be freaking everywhere.

 

Plus, plants are generally pretty slow and easy to catch. I just about guarantee you I could catch myself an armload of purslane or amaranth before someone bow-and-arrowed a deer. 

 

I think we saw dogs eating walker in Clear, driving in the car scene. 

 

I just pictured a bunch of dogs driving a car through the zombie apocalypse.

 

Also, if some person tries to eat my dogs I'mma eat that person.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Tippi Blevins

[CletusMusashi]

I think we saw dogs eating walker in Clear, driving in the car scene. That was well over a year into the ZA, I think the experimental stage with wild dogs eating walker has long been decided. If eating walker killed a dog, the only dogs still alive would be the ones who refuse to eat walker

There are still plenty of dogs that like antifreeze. Natural selection takes a while. 

Remember how many crows there used to be all over the place?

Well, they still have a very plentiful food source, but there just aren't as many crows now for some reason. 

Dogs either. 

[Nashville]

I love my puppies, but they would probably be the most likely thing to get my ass undead. 

I would never leave them, and I'd kill anything that came shambling up on their yapping little asses.

And they can yap - a LOT.

[Bongo Fury]

There are still plenty of dogs that like antifreeze. 

 

Yes, because anti-freeze is not readily and constantly available to them, unlike walker flesh to wild dogs in a ZA. And after 1 year + of having the opportunity to eat walker on a daily basis, if it was toxic the only dogs left alive would be the ones who refuse to eat walker. IMO, PLENTY of time for natural selection to have taken place.

[kj4ever]

I thought they might be good at attacking walkers, but I remembered that without shots for rabies, distemper, and think of parvo or heartworms...probably more likely to be heartbreaking to keep a pet.

You can train a dog to warn you another way than barking...Also have you ever seen Border Collies in action?  They could herd up those zombies and have them confused as all hell while you took them out.  It probably wouldn't do any good with a massive horde, but a mid-sized one?  I bet they could easily rally them away from humans.

[RedHackle]

My first thought when I saw "blt" was, "Beth, lettuce & tomato sandwich." I imagine it would taste vaguely annoying.

 

Yes, I realize you posted this a while ago, but I just saw it, and promptly dribbled V-8 down my chin. 

 

Back to the topic at hand, as realistic as it would be for someone to have gotten food poisoning by now, I'm okay with the fact that they haven't shown it; we always referred to food poisoning as COBES (for the uninitiated, that's 'coming out of both ends simultaneously).  Might be realistic, but not a lot of artistic value there for me. I still think this show does a better job paying attention to detail than most others.  I love the fact that they occasionally deafen themselves by firing bullets too close to their heads (or inside a tank) and I've never seen any other show do that. 

[hotcop]

My husband and I have spent an embarrassing amount of time discussing what we would do with our two cats if we were to be faced with a zombie apocalypse. So, when the time comes, we'll be the ones chopping the heads off of zeds with our cats strapped to our backs, a la Judith. You know where to find us.

 

I am glad I found this thread, because I have also wondered why they haven't picked up a dog along the way. I know they can be loud, but no more loud than a crying baby. I honestly think that's what the group is missing; I can totally see the benefit of a canine companion during the zombie apocalypse, especially for Coral.

 

And lastly, I, too, am curious about how they have managed to avoid the inevitable bouts of food poisoning with what they have been eating. I already have a phobia of eating TAINTED MEAT, namely undercooked chicken, so the thought of having to eat raw squirrel or a vat of likely expired chocolate pudding makes my stomach turn. But alas, this is just one of the things I have accepted to suspend my disbelief on, mainly because it is not something I wish to bear witness to. I don't mind my men covered in dirt and blood, but I do drawn the line at the poo and spew.

Edited January 23, 2015 by hotcop

[kikismom]

 the thought of having to eat raw squirrel or a vat of likely expired chocolate pudding makes my stomach turn.

Don't worry about anything in a can that is past the expiration date.

When we read about that experiment where those guys left a Twinkie outside and it never changed, we did the same thing with slices of Oscar Meyer Bologna. Which isn't even in a can.  But is supposed to be kept refrigerated and has an expiration date.

We took it in it's naked state outside (outside being miles down a limerock road in the forest). Left it out for a year. In all weather. It was still pink and pliable and ready-to-eat. (assumedly by humans; the wildlife wouldn't touch it. Not raccoons, not possums, not bears, ---all of which will happily eat the contents of the garbage dumpsters. Vultures ignored it.)

Fire ants---that will swarm over living or dead flesh and strip it to the bone---would not even nibble at it.

[hotcop]

Oh, I know, I'm mostly kidding. My phobia stems from a Food Safety bird course I had to take when I was in 12th grade. I have already accepted that once we reach the ZA, I will just have to suck it up and eat whatever I can get my hands on. And possibly hole up in a Hostess factory, or an abandoned McDonald's. And clearly stay away from the bologna.

[Tippi Blevins]

The bologna will probably come back as zombies. 

[kikismom]

. And possibly hole up in a Hostess factory

You can have the Twinkies if I can have the Sno-Balls.

[walnutqueen]

Seriously, folks - the human body has remarkable resiliency, and I am alive to tell this tale.  All the bacteria has migrated to my filth hovel (disability prevents me from cleaning; laziness takes care of the rest), and while I haven't reached the level of hoarder puffy-yogurt eater, I've been exposed to a myriad of germs and haven't been sick since I stopped hanging around other humans.  Instincts kept us alive long before we knew any better.  If it smells like you should vomit, avoid it.  Maybe my senses are over-honed, but even as a child I refused milk long before anyone else in the family found out it was turning sour, and I've avoided most antibiotics, flu shots and medications (except pain meds - those are A-OK!) ever since I read The Stand.  High tolerance - that's my excuse & I'm sticking to it.  :-)

 

 

ETA - stop with the anti-bacterial soaps and constant hand washing, too.  build some immunity, fer fuck's sake!

Edited January 23, 2015 by walnutqueen

[Haleth]

Ugh, I had food poisoning once after eating some bad shrimp the day before. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I never felt so sick in my life. Couldn't lift my head for about 12 hours, just slept all day, then it was over like [snap] that. Weird.

[Mu Shu]

Seriously, folks - the human body has remarkable resiliency, and I am alive to tell this tale.  All the bacteria has migrated to my filth hovel (disability prevents me from cleaning; laziness takes care of the rest), and while I haven't reached the level of hoarder puffy-yogurt eater, I've been exposed to a myriad of germs and haven't been sick since I stopped hanging around other humans.  Instincts kept us alive long before we knew any better.  If it smells like you should vomit, avoid it.  Maybe my senses are over-honed, but even as a child I refused milk long before anyone else in the family found out it was turning sour, and I've avoided most antibiotics, flu shots and medications (except pain meds - those are A-OK!) ever since I read The Stand.  High tolerance - that's my excuse & I'm sticking to it.  :-)

 

 

ETA - stop with the anti-bacterial soaps and constant hand washing, too.  build some immunity, fer fuck's sake!

That's terrible.   If you lived near me, I would clean your house and do your laundry.    That's sort of my obsession-Cleaning other people's houses and doing laundry for fun.

 

Getting enough vegetarian food in an apocalypse situation may be hard, unless you find lots of canned beans.   Maybe wild rice grows in Georgia?      I'm always amused that they don't seem to know about worms, grubs,  ants, grasshoppers, etc.   You could find snails, too.    Cook them up with some wild garlic, and that's good eatin'.     I used to pinch the heads of grasshoppers and roast them.  Not bad at all.

 

Lastly, I just need to point out that anyone who starts a thread title with  "I'm not a crackpot" is ok in my book.

[CarpeDiem54]

I got food poisoning once during a business trip. I must say, the staff at the Doubletree were very attentive. The front desk kept calling to see if I was okay and they'd periodically send up 7-Up and more TP. I left a $20 tip for the housecleaning staff and a note of apology. That room smelled like a walker's armpit when I left.

[walnutqueen]

I got food poisoning once during a business trip. I must say, the staff at the Doubletree were very attentive. The front desk kept calling to see if I was okay and they'd periodically send up 7-Up and more TP. I left a $20 tip for the housecleaning staff and a note of apology. That room smelled like a walker's armpit when I left.

 

I got food poisoning once, too - from a high end restaurant.  Seriously.

 

Mu Shu - feel free to come & clean my filth any ole time.  I'll sell a trinket to pay a plumber to fix the laundry tub and barely working toilet/shower, and you can figure out why my brand new (8+ yrs old) Dyson vac used only once makes a funny noise and spits out more dirt.  In return I offer you buried vintage forgotten treasures and lots of jewelery, and a rare insight into the delights of an urban wildlife refuge.  You haven't LIVED till you see a baby raccoon begging for a hot dog and swaying to the tones of my windchimes!   Oh, and I have Uverse 450, so unlimited TV, eh.  :-D

 

My whole point, and science is backing me up on this, is that we've become more susceptible to disease because of the obsession with anti-bacterial everything, excessive antibiotic use, and the over-processed plastic lives we lead.  I played in the park as a child, unattended, lived in a barn as a teen, also unattended,  and survived.  How the fuck did the human race ever survive before this particular modern time we live in?   Old folks have probably been asking this forever, just like me.

 

Now I want to link to the Monty Python 4 Lancashiremen skit, but I'm too fucking lazy.  :-)

[hotcop]

I totally agree with you, walnutqueen - I am not a sanitizer or overmedicator, and I rarely get sick. My mom, otoh, lathers herself in Purell, washes her hands after touching pretty much anything, and is still laid up in bed a couple times a year with a bad cold. The sickest I have ever been in my life though, was with food poisoning. I made the mistake of eating something from Dollar Tree (WHY GOD), and didn't see the outside of my bathroom for 3 or 4 days. I smelled like a walker's armpit (thanks CarpeDiem54 for that comparison)...or likely, worse. Like Bob's leg after it had been left on the BBQ for a week. So, for future ZA planning needs, Hostess GOOD, Dollar Tree BAD.

[AngelaHunter]

How the fuck did the human race ever survive before this particular modern time we live in?

 

I wonder. When I was a kid, we rode bikes and roller skated with no helmets or knee pads, drank unfiltered, unbottled water from garden hoses, didn't carry hand sanitizer, never washed our hands all day while playing outside, ate icicles like they were suckers,  stuffed our faces with penny candy whenever possible and ate them with our dirty fingers. We never got killed, poisoned or obese although nothing was child proofed or padded and no one paid much attention to our "daily nutritional requirements."

 

My mother, who grew up on a farm, told us, "You'll eat a peck of dirt before you die."  I never did figure out what a "peck" is.

 

*goes off to Google "peck"*

[walnutqueen]

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.  A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked ...

[Nashville]

The bologna will probably come back as zombies.

I thought it already had.

[CarpeDiem54]

I thought it already had.

TAINTED MEAT!

[Nashville]

TAINTED MEAT!

If even bacteria won't grow on it, can it REALLY be said to be tainted?

Same with Country Crock, btw. Just so you know.

[CarpeDiem54]

If even bacteria won't grow on it, can it REALLY be said to be tainted?

Same with Country Crock, btw. Just so you know.

Who knew my Country Crock was really some kind of anti-bacterial faux vegetable spread?

Hey, maybe that's what Daryl's using for hair gel...