The Hair and Nails Myth

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Across
  1. 2. The process of preserving a body after death, typically using chemicals to slow decay. It’s like giving the body a long-lasting "pause" button.
  2. 4. A widely held but false belief or idea, usually passed down through generations, often because it’s just more fun to believe than the actual truth. Think of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or that one uncle who swears he almost got recruited by the CIA.
  3. 5. An underground room or vault, often found in cemeteries, where bodies are stored. If movies have taught us anything, it’s also the number-one place where ghosts like to hang out.
  4. 10. A legendary creature that drinks blood and doesn’t seem to age, often tied to myths about the dead not staying dead. Thankfully, science says no lurking night-dwellers are actually waiting to rise.
  5. 13. The body’s built-in power plant. It takes food, breaks it down, and turns it into energy, fueling everything from thinking to running marathons… or binge-watching TV from the couch.
  6. 14. The traditional stories, myths, and beliefs of a culture, passed down for generations. It’s where you’ll find tales of vampires, werewolves, and apparently, undead manicures.
  7. 16. A trick of the eyes or mind that makes something seem different from reality. Like when you think your phone buzzed, but it didn’t—or when people think the dead are growing hair.
  8. 17. The process of losing water, which can happen to both the living and the dead. For the living, it causes headaches and crankiness. For the dead, it makes skin shrink and creates spooky illusions of growing nails.
  9. 18. The scientific term for a dead body, but let’s be honest—it always sounds a little spookier than just saying "body."
  10. 19. The absolute end of something, with no going back. Like the last episode of your favorite TV show, or, well… life itself.
  11. 20. The process of something becoming smaller—whether it’s skin after death or your favorite sweater after one tragic spin in the dryer.
Down
  1. 1. The slow breakdown of organic matter after death. Sounds gross, but it’s just nature doing its recycling thing.
  2. 3. The good stuff our bodies need to function—vitamins, minerals, proteins. Without them, nothing grows, including hair on a dead body.
  3. 6. The science of figuring out what happened after someone dies. Used by investigators, detectives, and literally every crime show on TV.
  4. 7. The tough, protein-based material that makes up your hair and nails. It’s what gives your nails their strength and your hair its ability to look great—or completely unmanageable—depending on the weather.
  5. 8. Mortis The stiffening of muscles after death. It makes corpses go from floppy to statue-like for a while before loosening up again. Nature’s way of reminding us that the body follows its own strange schedule.
  6. 9. A story that has been told for so long that people start thinking it’s true, even if there’s no evidence. Usually comes with dramatic effects, like glowing eyes or creepy long fingernails.
  7. 11. A fancy way of saying "after death." It’s mostly used for things like awards, book releases, and, if the myth were real, the world's most unnecessary haircuts.
  8. 12. A belief based on fear, tradition, or coincidence rather than science. Like thinking black cats bring bad luck, or that hair grows after death.
  9. 15. The life-giving gas that keeps us going. When we stop breathing, so do our cells, and that’s why no posthumous hair growth is happening, folks!