Z is for Zombies

So I've been hearing about this "Zombie Apocalypse" for a while now.  I always thought it was sort of a joke, but lately, I'm not so sure.  I started to realize how many people really take this seriously when I had a conversation about it with a good friend of mine.  She and her husband actually have a plan for what they will do in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse.  At first, I was in disbelief.  Then she explained it to me, and it actually makes a lot of sense.

When I think of zombies, I think Night of the Living Dead--corpses coming back to life as zombies and climbing up from the ground.  As I did a little research (OK, let's be realistic--I Googled "zombie apocalypse," which directed me to Cracked.com), I actually found some feasible ways that a zombie apocalypse could occur.  According to the information I found on Cracked.com, there are actually 5 scientific explanations for this apocalypse.

1. Brain Parasites which lead to personality changes and, possibly, insanity.
2. Neurotoxins which cause the victim to appear dead.  The victim can be "brought back," but in a trance-like (read: zombie-like) state.  Supposedly, this has already happened in Haiti--a voodoo priest needed some cheap labor for his sugar plantation.  Google "Clairvius Narcisse"--he was supposedly found wandering his village 18 years after he had been declared dead due to this phenomenon.
3. Viruses like Mad Cow Disease.  Also known as Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, it causes dementia, memory loss, personality changes, speech impairment, jerky movements, loss of balance and coordination, changes in gait... Sound like a zombie yet?
4. Neurogenesis--as in, stem cell research.  Most worrisome: the use of stem cells to regrow dead brain tissue.  Theoretically, we could actually create our own zombies in a lab.  Scary.
5. Nanobots--tiny robots, like, microscopic.  They invade a host and live there for days after the host dies.  Why are we trying to think this shit up?

I was a total non-believer before reading this article.  I guess I should add Zombie Apocalypse to the list of problems we are creating for ourselves through modern science--right up there with Super Bugs, which also scare the bajeezus out of me.  I have no idea what I would do in the event of the Zombie Apocalypse.  I suppose it is something to think about.

I may be a day late, but this concludes my A-Z Blogging Challenge!  I had a lot of fun, and I want to say Thank You to all the readers who have followed my alphabetical journey.  I hope you keep reading!!