Real-Life Zombie Emergency Plans (and a giveaway!!)

Never fear, zombiephobes: actual zombie emergency plans are popping up across the world. Nevermind that the zombies you see in movies are totally fictional - respected instituions such as the University of Florida and even the Centers for Disease Control have released tongue-in-cheek plans. A not-so tongue in cheek plan? New York's.

Just reading the CDC's release makes it pretty clear that it's a fun article intended to get people's attention. Whereas you might ignore a boring old CDC press release ("Seriously? Another pandemic that probably won't happen?"), a statement about the Zombie Apocalypse is sure to at least encourage a quick skim of the article. Even a quick skim is enough to get the basics - you should stockpile water and other non-perishables in the basement, designate emergency contacts, make sure you have a designated meeting place in case of disaster (Hint: If it really is a zombie apocalypse, the gates to the cemetery across the street would be a terrible spot to meet). In short, it's stuff you should be doing to prepare for a number of other disasters, not a just a living dead doomsday. Well played, CDC, well played.

In other news, the city council of Leicester, England, faced questioning from an overzealous citizen who wanted to know exactly what plan was in place in the event of an uprisig of the dead. A week after the council admitted that there was no plan, zombies mysteriously "attacked" the city council offices.

Speaking of zombies, Neatorama is ghoulishly excited about the gutsy new additions to the NeatoShop, and to spread the brains love, I'm giving away one of each of the new products! You could win one of two zombie doorstops or a set of zombie magnets (the magnets are my pick). All you have to do is visit me on Twitter and tell me your zombie emergency plan in 140 characters or less. I'll randomly pick three winners. You have until midnight on Wednesday to enter.

My zombie emergency plan, in case you're wondering, is to hole up at work. There's a big gate that can block off the cafeteria and similar gates on each floor, so we'd be able to quarantine off areas and keep our food supply safe. Yes, I've thought about this, and yes, I've watched too many zombie movies.