eli5: Why do drowned bodies sink and then float?

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eli5: Why do drowned bodies sink and then float?

In: Biology

14 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

[removed]

Anonymous 0 Comments

Well, human bodies are denser than water. However, our guts are filled with gasses, that give us close to neutral buoyancy. That is, why if you deeply exhale in a pool, you sink. If you die, water replaces the gas in your lungs and you sink. As you rot, your body is broken down and decomposition gases like methane begin building up. They have higher buoyancy than water, and so the body rises to the surface.

Anonymous 0 Comments

when you drown your lungs fill with fluid and you sink. once dead your body begins to break down and the bacteria in your intestines start eating you. as they eat the fart and fill your body with gasses, which make you buoyant and you then float back up to the surface.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Not knowing this answer = you’re clearly not a serial killer.

Don’t worry, folks. OP didn’t do it.