I just read a news article about a Catholic Nun from Kansas City that evidently didn’t decompose after four years and now the corpse is on display as evidence of a miracle. How, according to science, is this possible in a humid place like Kansas City without intentionally mummifying the corpse?
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Fat plus a base (the opposite of an acid) turns to soap.
People are accidentally turned into soap by soil and groundwater conditions relatively frequently.
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I took a forensic entomology class and learned a fair deal about the decomposition process! If one dies inside, especially if the AC or Heater is running, that drastically dries out the air and allows for the mummification of one’s body. This also helps limit insect activity and access to the body.
Mummification is a lot more common out west, where the air is a lot drier. Based on the photos seen in that class, “mummification” just means that some soft tissue is still present and preserved on the body, being more common the hands, feet, and limbs, they don’t look usually look complete and totally preserved like say intentional Egyptian mummies. But out west and inside a climate controlled room, mummification is usually the end point of the decomposition, in comparison to the skeletonization that’s seen out east.
Mummies are occasionally found in peat bogs in Europe and elsewhere, some are in a remarkable state of preservation. They’re sometimes thought to be executed criminals, sacrifices, etc.
>A bog body is a human cadaver that has been naturally mummified in a peat bog. Such bodies, sometimes known as bog people, are both geographically and chronologically widespread, having been dated to between 8000 BCE and the Second World War.[1] The unifying factor of the bog bodies is that they have been found in peat and are partially preserved; however, the actual levels of preservation vary widely from perfectly preserved to mere skeletons.[2]
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>Unlike most ancient human remains, bog bodies often retain their skin and internal organs due to the unusual conditions of the surrounding area. Combined, highly acidic water, low temperature, and a lack of oxygen preserve but severely tan their skin. While the skin is well-preserved, the bones are generally not, due to the dissolution of the calcium phosphate of bone by the peat’s acidity.[3] The acidic conditions of these bogs allow for the preservation of materials such as skin, hair, nails, wool and leather which all contain the protein keratin.[3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_body](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_body)
Pics at the link; Google has many images.
I suppose someone could have done a very good job sealing up her coffin. Well have to wait and see if the Vatican actually makes her a saint to see if they came up with an alternate explanation.
But I came here to mention the [Saltmen of Iran.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltmen). Apparently, these guys, found in Iran, were accidentally mummified when the salt mine they were working in collapsed on them. 1700 years later, their bodies are still not rotted away. That suggests some similar could have happened in Kansas City in that some sort of moisture absorbing material was introduced to the nuns coffin and prevented decomposition.
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