Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Zombies

Zombies actually exist. Seriously. Anthropologist Wade Davis led a legendary expedition into Haiti as part of his doctoral dissertation to discover the secret recipe to create zombies, an expedition so dangerous that one of his reviewers remarked, “Davis must be told he will be killed if he tries to do this work.” He theorized that tetrodotoxin was the main ingredient in the potion for the zombification process and eventually obtained the full recipe and the settings required for zombification to occur. His discoveries were published in two books, 'Passage of Darkness' and 'The Serpent and the Rainbow,' the latter of which was turned into a Wes Craven film starring Bill Pullman.
How might you get some tetrodotoxin? BLOW FISH. Yup. Make your own zombie using the poison ejected from blowfish.

According to io9, sleeping sickness, for instance, occurs when parasites attack the brain and cause its victim to have slurred speech and loss of concentration that eventually prevents them from performing the most menial of tasks. Necrosis attacks specific groups of cells that creates a breakdown in communication between skin cells and the nervous system. Eventually, the skin begins to wither and rot while the victim's most basic functions shut down, one by one. Dysarthria affects the speech center of the brain and can prevent people from being able to control the volume of their voice or the ability to enunciate because of loss of control over one's vocal muscles. So, basically, they moan like a zombie craving brains.

The CDC has a site devoted to preparing for a zombie apocalypse.
Better safe then sorry I guess.
One section of their emergency preparedness site is dedicated to preparing for a zombie disaster and lists several suggestions for how to prepare for the undead apocalypse. It urges residents to keep an emergency kit in their homes, map out an emergency plan with family members and plan an evacuation route. It's meant to be tongue-in-cheek as a viral method of increasing public safety awareness, but the CDC assures us that “If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak.”

Australia is the safest country for Zombie Attacks.
Time to save up your frequent flyer miles.
The staff of LiveScience conducted a global survey of the best “Safe Zones” in case of a zombie outbreak and Australia topped the list. Canada, the United States, Russia and Kazakhstan rounded up the top five. The countries were graded according to their global location, topography, weapon access, population and “military preparedness.” Though if movies have taught us anything, the military guys in tanks are always the first to go.

The Walking Dead contains all kinds of Breaking Bad Easter Eggs.
Since they are both sister AMC shows, The Walking Dead made a tribute to Breaking Bad by showcasing some interesting 'blue crystals' much like the kind Hiesenburg was famous for.

A doctor wanted to bring back to life George Washington's body.
For reals.
The first president was scared to death (tee hee hee) of being buried alive, so he had his family freeze his body after he was deceased. Physician and Capitol Building architect William Thornton showed up to pay his last respects to the late president and when he learned his body had been preserved, he asked the family if he could conduct a series of medical experiments to see if he could resurrect him by pumping his lungs with air and infusing a hearty amount of lamb's blood into his circulatory system. Thankfully, the family refused his requests. Imagine teaching schoolchildren about George Washington's undying quest for tasty brains.

A Hitian dictator was once rumored to have his own zombie army.
François ­”Papa Doc” Duvalier–a man who ruled through fear, intolerance and unrelenting violence — left a deep stain on the history of the Haitian people. Duvalier, a president for life who came to power in 1957, spent 28 years as Haiti's leader, embezzling aid meant to keep his people from suffering and ruling over them with an iron fist.
He was said to have killed 30,000 to 60,000 Haitians who were opposing him. These people were said to have been treated with local voodoo practices and re-training them in their zombie state. Luckily, this was untrue, but to this day he is one of the most feared men in Haitian history.