4 Ways To Determine Time of Death In a Dead Person

Regardless of your desire to know this information, we're here to discuss the four primary indicators of time of death in a corpse. (Because you obviously can't determine the time of a person's death if they're still alive) I would like to point out that all of these indicators can only help you estimate the time of death, since many environmental factors can change the observed events. Hopefully, you won't come back with pitchforks and torches if you come across a dead person (as often as you do) and quickly induce the person's time of death, only to find out how wrong you were, based on what we've told you.

If you look closely enough, you can see the imminent, post-apocalyptic future. On the other hand, there are some neat skulls there. 

4. Livor Mortis

Livor Mortis is one of the first things you don't see on crime shows and movies, despite it being one of the first things that happen to a dead body. Livor mortis is the resultant color of a dead person's pooling blood at the work of gravity. What do I mean? Think of it this way, once you're dead, your heart stops beating. If your heart stops beating and your blood vessels stop moving, there is nothing to circulate your blood. Therefore, after you die, your blood simply flows down your once active blood vessels, into the lowest part of your body. (Regardless of body position.)

Livor mortis is clearly observed by a dark purpleish hue onto the skin in which the blood has flown and pooled. Depending on the time, this color can/will become permanently fixed onto the body in a matter of time. What this all means is that you can determine the position the person died, along with the the estimated time of death.

Don't worry, this is the most graphic picture in this article. (Even though I found hundreds of pictures of half-decomposing bodies everywhere, so you owe me one.)

After the first two to eight hours of death, lividity (pooling of blood in body) will be present on the body. However, it would be easily removed by pressing onto the afflicted area with a finger/any pressure. If the color disappears, the person probably died less than eight hours ago. If the color remains, the person must have died beyond the eight hour time frame.

Before you start jumping around like some type of leprechaun with your new-found knowledge, allow me to inform you about the factors that affect livor mortis. First off, the environmental temperature of the body can greatly influence how long it takes before lividity becomes permanent. If the temperature happened to be extremely cold at that time, livor mortis could be slowed down. (The opposite is true as well) Accessories and clothing such as tight belts and wristwatches could easily externally constrict blood passage as well, which can also slow down livor mortis.

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Horrifying Tuesday: The Mantis Shrimp

The Mantis Shrimp is possibly one of the most innovative creatures of the ocean due to its cleverness and undeniably powerful jabs. If you thought that you were a good boxer, wait until you meet this little guy and get introduced to a whole new world of pain. But how could a small marine crustacean pose any threat to your masculinity? It may or may not be related to the fact that they're common referred as "sea locusts" and "thumb splitters".

"Why hello there, my good man!" - The Mantis Shrimp

To emphasize how hardcore these creatures are, the Mantis Shrimp are commonly placed into two different groups depending on which type of claw they have. There are "Spearers" which have spiky appendages with barbed tips, which are used to rapidly stab and break prey. The other group is called "Smashers" which have their appendages in a blunter form which gives them a more developed club that can be used to smash their victims apart like a hammer, while making their stabbing less effective as a result. But you can't win them all, right?

But despite only having a "spear" or a "club", these creatures are capable of taking on and killing much larger victims with these rudimentary weapons. They are commonly known for their unbelievable quickness in both spear and club, capable of firing a single jab/smash at the same acceleration of a .22 caliber bullet. Their lunging punch can be shot at their prey with an acceleration of nearly 335,000 ft/s^2. What does this all mean? It means that by the time you finish your first punch, this little guy would probably be starting dinner.

"Would you like a plate? I've made way too much for my own appetite." - The Mantis Shrimp

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Crows: Suspiciously Smart

Crows have been getting a bad wrap lately. They're always depicted as evil scavengers often found pecking fresh eyeballs in crime drama shows. The person that named a group of crows a "murder" doesn't help the stereotype either. However, crows are actually considered one of the world's most intelligent animals in the world. I'm not talking about the cute "walk through a maze" smart either, I'm talking about "make tools to take over mankind" smart.

Just eating a shark. Nothing to see here.

Crows have been shown to be one of the few animals in the world that can use and construct tools. Both domestic and wild crows have shown certain abilities that make them creepily smart. For example, wild hooded crows in Israel have learned to use breadcrumbs for baiting fish in pools. One crow took/found a piece of bread, held it beneath it's feet, tore the bread to little pieces, threw the pieces into a pool and expertly extract nibbling fish under the water. Wait a few more years, and they'll be dangling keys in front of little boys and girls in the playground.

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4 of The Smartest People In The World

Smarts? "Piissssssh. I aced that IQ test with a hundred. What do you mean it goes higher than a hundred?" Despite how smart you might think of yourself, there's a controversial test that'll tell you how smart you are. The intelligence quotient will tell you if you're "brilliant", or if you can't tell the difference between a apple and a celery stick.

I still can't tell the difference.

Below, you'll find the 'smartest' people in the entire known world by their intelligence quotient. By no means is this a definite list of all the smart people that ever existed, it's not like we can go back to the past, and force people to take IQ tests.

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking is one most well-known "smart" people in this generation. He is a 69 year-old English theoretical physicist and cosmologist. His scientific career spans over 40 years of controversial studies and books, which leads us to a conclusion that he might be a bright guy.

Stephen Hawking has a widely rumored IQ of 160. How much is that? Likely more than your score. Only about 0.5% of the population have greater than 140 IQ. People with that high of a score are in that sweet spot of earning the Nobel Peace Prize, along with a sweet check.

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