This article was taken from the July 2013 issue of Wired
magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before
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Death may be a fact of life, but it
hasn't stopped enterprising minds throughout the centuries from
trying to bend the rules. But the right techniques always seemed to
slip through their fingers -- much like their unfortunate
In 1492, with Pope Innocent VIII in a coma, the
desperate papal physicians attempted a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, the pope's
staunch anti-intellectual stance
meant Arab scholar Ibn al-Nafis's
description of the circulatory system had not yet been translated into Latin. Blood drawn
from three young boys was poured into the
pontiff's mouth. He died, and so did the
In 1818, an audience squeezed beneath the skeletons in
Glasgow University's anatomy theatre to see a shocking spectacle.
Physician Andrew Ure applied powerful electrodes to the corpse of
recently executed criminal Matthew Clydesdale, leading the body to
thrust in energetic convulsions. Ure's request for a more intact
subject went unanswered.
In the early 20th century, Japanese martial-arts instructor
Kano Jigoro brought judo to the US, and with it kuatsu, techniques
used by jujitsu masters to revive students accidentally stunned or
killed. Despite never learning judo, scientist Horace Ivie felt
ready to test it on animals. After euthanising a small lamb, he
attempted to judo chop it into life. He was not successful.
Pump it up
Soviet physician Aleksei Aleksandrovich
Kuliabko attempted reanimation in 1929, using a cocktail of
drugs called Locke's Solution and a pump. According to Kuliabko,
the corpse choked into life, and maintained a pulse for 20
minutes. Kuliabko later said, "The principle is a success. It only
remains to develop the technique for surgeons to
apply practically." We're still waiting.
Frank Swain's How To Make a Zombie is out now