Death is a really weird and serious topic that nobody likes to talk about much. But we all have to deal with it someday. There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about what actually happens when someone dies.
We’ll look at things like if your whole life really flashes before your eyes when you die. And whether sharks can really smell a single drop of blood from miles away (spoiler: not true!). I’ll bust some famous death scenes from movies and TV shows. But I’ll also talk about the real science of how death works.
1. Your life flashes before your eyes.
This classic movie cliché suggests that in your final moments, you’ll re-experience every memory from your entire life in rapid succession. In reality, there’s no scientific evidence this occurs. Your brain may revisit some vivid memories, but not your full life story.
2. You poop when you die.
It’s a crass myth, but many believe that muscles relax so much after death that bowels and bladders automatically empty themselves. While this can occur sometimes, it’s not an inevitability. Rigorous scientific studies have shown most do not defecate when passing.
3. There’s a light at the end of a tunnel.
Media portrays this heavily as the archetypal experience of dying – floating through a tunnel towards a bright inviting light. However, very few people actually report experiencing anything resembling this famous trope.
4. Your hair and nails keep growing after death.
The ghoulish idea that our hair and nails seem to grow longer after we die is just an illusion. What’s really happening is that the soft tissue is drying out and tightening, making it appear like the nails and hair are getting longer.
5. You know when you’re about to die.
While some may claim to have a “sixth sense” about impending death, there’s no actual way to definitively know your time is up until it happens. Our bodies give no proven, reliable signals that death is imminent.
6. Your body has to be refrigerated right after death.
It’s a common assumption that dead bodies start decaying rapidly and thus need refrigeration ASAP. In fact, the cooling process can take many hours. Morticians have plenty of time to prepare and preserve remains.
7. Dying is extremely painful.
There’s an assumption that death itself is an agonizing, excruciatingly painful process. But research suggests otherwise – the actual moment of death is likely painless for most people who die naturally of illness or old age.
8. If you get cremated, they don’t get all your ashes back.
Many think that some ashes are inevitably “lost” and not fully returned to the family after cremation. However, this simply isn’t true. Crematoriums use specialized filters and containers to meticulously collect every last bit of bone fragment and ash, ensuring all remains are provided to families.
9. Death has a distinct smell.
You’ve heard of the notorious “smell of death” in TV shows and movies. But interestingly, multiple scientific studies on the subject have concluded that there is no universal “death” smell that can be definitively pinpointed across all scenarios.
The scents given off by decaying remains can vary significantly bas ed on factors like environment, cause of death, body position, and time elapsed.
10. Being buried vertically is illegal.
An urban legend claims that it’s against the law to be buried upright instead of horizontally. But it’s completely false – there are no laws prohibiting vertical or angled burials in most regions. People can choose to be interred upright or at an angle if that’s their preference, though admittedly horizontal is still the most common method.
11. Gunshot means instant death.
While a headshot is obviously extremely traumatic and often fatal, the reality is that the result can be much more variable. Instant death is not guaranteed and can depend heavily on factors like bullet caliber, firing distance, trajectory through the skull, and severity of injuries. Some headshot victims have amazingly survived with proper medical care.
12. Sharks can smell a single drop of blood from miles away.
Thanks to movies and TV shows, we imagine sharks as mindless killing machines that will sniff out any hint of blood from incredible distances. The truth? A shark’s sense of smell is amazing, but nor supernatural. They can only detect blood a few hundred yards away at most.
13. Your spirit can get trapped after death.
The idea of souls or spirits becoming “trapped” on Earth after death due to unfinished business is a premise in many ghost stories and horror flicks. However, there is obviously zero evidence from a scientific perspective to indicate human spirits or souls exist as tangible entities at all, let alone that they can get stuck between realms after dying.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are all sorts of myths and misconceptions out there about what happens when we die. Some are harmless but others can cause real worry and fear. The reality is that death is still quite misunderstood, but science continues to shed light on the truth behind this inevitable part of life.
