Birth, aging, illness, and death are the fates that every person cannot escape. Whether in films or novels, people often have the impression that the deceased, when lifted, feel exceptionally heavy. Why is this the case?
After death, the muscles become limp and cold, resembling a lump of clay. Each part of the body serves as a center of gravity, but when lifting the body, the force distribution is uneven. You cannot apply all your strength to a single point, whereas lifting a living person is different.
When lifting a living person, they need to cooperate; for example, their arms naturally rest a bit on your shoulders, and their legs bend to provide support. This allows the entire body to maintain balance, with the center of gravity distributed evenly both front and back.
However, a corpse is different. The entire backward movement relies solely on the person behind, with the body being rigid and unyielding. Furthermore, the center of gravity of the corpse is directed downwards, meaning that all the force exerted by the person lifting it is concentrated on their arms, making it particularly challenging to carry a deceased person on one’s back.
The coffin bearers and those carrying the body both feel a significant burden, which is also related to psychological factors. (Illustrative image).
Does a person’s weight change before and after death?
From the early 20th century, an American doctor named Duncan MacDougall provided some answers through experiments. After obtaining consent from patients and their families, he placed six dying individuals on a large, precise scale.
Following the publication of this experimental data, many believed that the weight lost by a person after death represented the weight of the soul, which led to the adage “the soul weighs 21 grams”.
However, human experiments tend to attract more attention. In fact, after this experiment, Dr. Duncan conducted another one, this time selecting 15 dogs and measuring their weights using the same method. He discovered that the weights of these 15 dogs showed no significant change before and after death, leading to the saying “dogs have no soul” being circulated.
In reality, scientists have clarified the changes in weight before and after death. The reason people lose weight after death is that as they near death, they inhale more air and exhale less. An adult can inhale about 0.2 liters or approximately 0.2 grams of air in one breath. Thus, continuously inhaling less and exhaling more will gradually reduce their weight.
It can be seen that after death, whether placed in a coffin or carried on someone’s back, both the coffin bearers and those carrying the body feel a substantial weight. This perception is also influenced by psychological factors, the weight of the coffin, and the shift in the body’s center of gravity.
In fact, a person’s weight does not increase after death but slightly decreases. This is due to the severe imbalance between the volume of air inhaled and the volume of air exhaled (as well as metabolic processes, such as sweating, etc.).
Therefore, the belief that the deceased are heavier stems from human psychology.
The psychological state of the bearers, filled with fear and anxiety to complete the task quickly, makes them feel uneasy. When anxious, time seems to drag on, and as it passes, they subconsciously feel the body becoming heavier.
Even without fearing ghosts, from a medical perspective, there is an inherent fear of contracting diseases while carrying the dead. Once fear sets in, the weight naturally feels heavier. Additionally, some individuals have tragically lost loved ones and friends.
When faced with the deceased, the sorrow can affect every part of the body, causing a chain reaction. When lifting the deceased, this sorrow makes individuals feel weak, creating the illusion that the departed are exceptionally heavy.
