How long does it take for a body to decompose?
Once a person is dead, their body usually starts to decay immediately, although a good embalming job can delay decay.
David Volk
David Volk is a Seattle-based freelance journalist/humorist whose credits include Reuters, USA Today, fodors.com (opens in new tab) and a variety of alumni magazines. He writes about the lighter side of science, travel, food and business. He is the author of "The Cheap Bastard's Guide to Seattle" and "The Tribe Has Spoken: Life Lessons From Reality TV." He is currently collecting stories for a book he hopes to write about funerals gone wrong tentatively titled, "As I Die Laughing." You can find his regular humor posts on Medium (opens in new tab).