We all know the zombie apocalypse is coming, but when? WeZombie is proud to announce the Zombie Apocalypse Prediction Date which will estimate the date and time that the apocalypse will become pandemic. Is it accurate? Is it perfect? Probably not, but it’s a good start towards providing a measurement for planning for that eventual moment. The date will change based on the prevailing current events, zombie popularity, zombie merchandise costs, and other factors so that we can get a feeling for whether we are getting closer or further away from the eventual zombie apocalypse. Once we have sufficient historical data we’ll be able to predict trends that will aid in the discussions for planning.
The ZAPD will always be in the upper right corner of all the WeZombie pages, and is updated daily. How is the prediction date calculated?
Here’s a definition of the variables:
This is the # of search results across three search engines for zombie apocalypse
This is the # of search results across three search engines for zombie
This is the advertiser per dollar cost of the word zombie on google adsense
This is the # of search results for news stories involving zombies
This is the # that would indicate an epidemic of news stories involving zombies
This is a fudge factor I can use to shorten the apocalypse date. It is currently not in use, as it’s value is 0 and it does not change the equation’s results. However, I may use it in the future because as I look out my window at the people walking by I sometimes see zombies. As I see more of this happening I may need to shorten the apocalypse date. I won’t give my address, but I will say that people that walk by here look more like zombies every day, so this F factor may need to be factored into the equation in the future.
Above and to the right of the date is an arrow indicating the trend compared to yesterday:
The zombie apocalypse prediction date is now earlier than previously predicted
The zombie apocalypse prediction date is now later than previously predicted
The zombie apocalypse prediction date is remaining steady
If you would like to add the Zombie Apocalypse Prediction Date to your web site, here is the code. It will update automatically each day:
<a href=”http://wezombie.com/zombie-apocalypse-prediction-date-zapd/”><img src=”http://wezombie.com/images/zapd.jpg” id=”zapd” height=”135″ width=”162″ border=”0″ alt=”We Zombie – Zombie Apocalypse Prediction Date”><script type=”text/javascript”>document.getElementById(‘zapd’).src = document.getElementById(‘zapd’).src + ‘?u=’ + new Date().valueOf();</script></a>
View all Historical Predictions
12/01/11 – Jan. 14, 2017 6:23 AM
12/02/11 – Dec. 19, 2016 7:18 PM
12/03/11 – Jun. 22, 2016 1:03 AM
12/04/11 – Nov. 4, 2016 9:40 PM
12/05/11 – Dec. 3, 2016 2:55 AM
12/06/11 – Jan. 12, 2017 11:16 PM
12/07/11 – Oct. 12, 2016 9:13 AM
12/08/11 – Mar. 14, 2017 4:21 AM
12/09/11 – Jan. 26, 2017 10:48 PM
12/10/11 – Nov. 12, 2016 6:47 AM
12/11/11 – Apr. 27, 2017 11:23 PM
12/12/11 – Apr. 18, 2017 6:52 AM
12/13/11 – Jun. 28, 2017 12:32 PM
12/14/11 – Aug. 31, 2017 10:21 AM
12/15/11 – Sep. 24, 2017 8:34 AM
12/16/11 – Aug. 25, 2015 6:52 AM
12/17/11 – Jan. 30, 2015 5:21 PM
12/18/11 – Aug. 30, 2017 5:55 PM
12/19/11 – Sep. 29, 2015 6:18 PM
12/20/11 – Jul. 23, 2017 9:22 PM
12/21/11 – Mar. 23, 2016 5:55 AM
12/22/11 – Apr. 12, 2015 3:07 AM
12/23/11 – Nov. 25, 2014 12:11 AM
12/24/11 – Apr. 11, 2018 4:40 AM
12/25/11 – May 28, 2017 1:41 AM
12/26/11 – Oct. 25, 2018 7:11 PM
12/27/11 – Sep. 13, 2016 5:47 PM
12/28/11 – Mar. 5, 2015 1:50 AM
12/29/11 – Jul. 19, 2014 1:30 PM
12/30/11 – May 19, 2016 12:49 PM
12/31/11 – May 10, 2016 8:53 AM
01/01/12 – May 31, 2017 2:24 AM
01/02/12 – Jul. 31, 2014 4:43 AM
01/03/12 – Aug. 21, 2014 8:02 AM
01/04/12 – Jul. 20, 2016 4:23 PM
01/05/12 – Apr. 29, 2016 2:25 PM
01/06/12 – Jul. 17, 2017 10:06 PM
01/07/12 – Aug. 10, 2014 12:47 PM
01/08/12 – Sep. 3, 2014 12:18 AM
01/09/12 – Apr. 27, 2015 2:53 PM
01/10/12 – Jul. 2, 2014 1:17 PM
01/11/12 – Oct. 18, 2017 3:02 PM
01/12/12 – Feb. 4, 2018 6:02 AM
01/13/12 – Apr. 20, 2018 1:11 AM
01/14/12 – Apr. 14, 2016 5:32 PM
01/15/12 – Mar. 29, 2018 8:07 AM
01/16/12 – Oct. 22, 2017 4:37 PM
01/17/12 – May 6, 2018 12:43 PM
01/18/12 – May 16, 2015 1:02 PM
01/19/12 – Mar. 26, 2016 6:25 PM
01/20/12 – Jul. 13, 2016 4:30 PM
01/21/12 – Sep. 12, 2016 2:01 PM
01/22/12 – Jul. 16, 2016 10:52 AM
01/23/12 – Aug. 7, 2016 4:42 PM
01/24/12 – Jan. 4, 2015 10:21 PM
01/25/12 – Oct. 25, 2014 6:52 PM
01/26/12 – Nov. 10, 2014 7:30 PM
01/27/12 – Oct. 31, 2014 1:23 AM
01/28/12 – Nov. 15, 2014 11:08 PM
01/29/12 – Jan. 1, 2015 11:55 AM
01/30/12 – Jan. 11, 2015 1:39 AM
01/31/12 – Dec. 18, 2014 12:45 AM
02/01/12 – Nov. 19, 2014 9:32 AM
02/02/12 – Dec. 27, 2014 5:56 AM
02/04/12 – Dec. 21, 2014 5:05 AM
02/05/12 – Nov. 14, 2014 1:53 PM
02/06/12 – Dec. 3, 2014 9:05 PM
02/07/12 – Sep. 16, 2014 10:00 PM
02/08/12 – Aug. 20, 2014 2:55 PM
02/10/12 – Sep. 8, 2014 7:23 AM
02/11/12 – Jul. 24, 2014 12:06 AM
02/12/12 – Sep. 13, 2014 12:35 PM
02/13/12 – Aug. 1, 2014 1:09 PM
02/14/12 – Sep. 5, 2014 12:11 PM
02/15/12 – Sep. 29, 2014 5:20 AM
02/16/12 – Oct. 1, 2014 10:34 AM
02/18/12 – Sep. 12, 2014 1:13 PM
02/19/12 – Aug. 31, 2014 1:28 PM
02/20/12 – Oct. 25, 2014 4:40 AM
02/21/12 – Sep. 3, 2014 4:03 AM
02/22/12 – Oct. 27, 2014 9:18 AM
Update – July 8, 2011. Signs of the zombie apocalypse are staying relatively stable. New stats are posted on the statistics page, and it looks like May 26 is still the projected date.
Update – May 19, 2011. We have almost a year of daily zombie apocalypse prediction dates compiled. I’ve posted some new statistics and a graph on the statistics page, but so far it still looks like May 26 is the magic date. It amazes me how this random formula based on search engine results keeps pointing to May 26 – somewhere around the year 2014 or 2015 for the zombie apocalypse.
Update – December 12, 2010. My hope was that after the Halloween holiday, the zombie apocalypse date would start moving back out, and indeed it has. The popularity of zombies this past Halloween moved the date very close – only a year away, but the date has been returning to around 3 years out, so we still have time to prepare. I’ve posted some new statistics and a graph on the statistics page.
Update – October 25, 2010. Don’t worry – even though the zombie apocalypse prediction date has moved into the year 2013 for the first time, I think this is a temporary trend. Much of the change in news and search requests on the Internet regarding the apocalypse are due to zombies being popular for costumes and decorations for the Halloween holiday. My hope is that after the holiday, the date will move back out. If it doesn’t, well then perhaps we should pay attention to all those predictions about the year 2012.
Update – October 15, 2010. The zombie apocalypse prediction date has moved much closer – for the first time the date has moved into the year 2015. I hope this is an anomaly and not a sign of things to come.
Update – September 1, 2010. We’re still updating the zombie apocalypse prediction date every day, and the date has been hovering around the years 2020 and 2021. Last month saw a decrease of about 6 years until the apocalypse comes. Some interesting statistics have been generated and are available on a recent post.
Update – August 14, 2010. In the past week, the zombie apocalypse prediction date has been steadily moving closer – it is now in the year 2021 for the first time. There has been a large increase in the number of news stories related to zombies, and search inquires containing the terms “zombie apocalypse” have increased. The formula for the ZAPD has not changed, and the fudge factor F is still 0 and is not being used.
Update – August 5, 2010. Today the zombie apocalypse prediction date moved a lot closer – into the year 2024 for the first time since WeZombie started tracking the coming apocalypse. There has been a large increase in the number of news stories related to zombies, particularly in the UK, and this has caused the date to move a lot closer.
Update – July 21, 2010. Strange. Google’s search result count for the word zombie jumped by 14 million in one day. At the same time, the search result count for zombie apocalypse increased by only 100 thousand. This means that the percent of chatter related to zombies contain less talk of the zombie apocalypse. For for first time, the zombie apocalypse prediction date has moved out into the year 2028. This is probably a good thing, but those of you waiting for the zombie horde’s arrival will be disappointed
Update - July 9, 2010 marks the first day that the zombie apocalypse prediction date has moved into the year 2025. The zombie hordes will be here sooner than we think.
Greetings and salutations everyone. Recently my computer had gotten a….nasty virus…. which prohibited me from going on internet explorer. Thank goodness the zombie apocalypse didnt happen duing the past week or so! I wouldnt of known until half the country was infected! (Why? You may ask? Mostly because our government may decide not to allow news programs to broadcast anything about the ‘undead’ coming to life, for the first few weeks atleast.) I know, I know. “The zombie apocalypse wont ever happen” But thats your opinion and it may or may not be true. Better to be safe than sorry, eh?
Anyway, Ive recently found my new zombie fighting weapon. Any of ya’ll ever here of a cold steel special forces shovel? ‘Things badass and Ima try to get one A.S.A.P. , both a deadly weapon and a tool to bury bodies. Well’p my zombie fightin’ friends, seems my hidin’ place has been discovered and I need to start getting a move on before my brains are nommed on. Peace out and with all respects, your friend.
…..
I don’t think the zombie apocalypse would last lots of years.
You see, on the start of the Z-poc, of course many people will get infected. As weeks and months will pass by zombies infect more & more people in different places. And there will always come a day that their ”Supply of Food” which we humans are, will be scarce. Lucky survivors obviously have their own hideouts already. So if the zombies don’t have anymore supply of ”Food” just like us humans, we will starve & die. So I think if the Z-poc will happen, it will only last 1-2 years.
Hmm.. Better enjoy shooting zombies while we can then!
And….Suppose the zombies dont have a “need” food? If the zombies are already dead, as many people suppose, why would they have a need for food? And even if they did the animals in our world outnumber us by lots. Im pretty sure they have a decent supply of food. Even when the animals start dying out they could just turn to eat eachother. Please. Have a decent argument when you jump to quick conclusions of he zombie invasion ending quickly. Your respects, and your zombie-loving friend. Me.
When I came on and saw it was in 2012 I nearly shat my pants, although if it gets down to 2011 I may start laughing my ass off.
Also, Ive been thinking after reading some comments from longer ago. How would the zombie apocalypse start exactly? Well I predict that its going to turn out to be a rapid mutation of the rabies virus to the point that humans can get infected by it. Pretty much the same thing right? Anyway, if I turn out to be correct in anyway the zombies will pretty much be your standard running zombies that die from hits to any areas that would kill a human. This in all rights is the best bet the zombie apocalypse has of arising. The chances of a zombie like disease/virus/infection popping up over night are HIGHLY unlikely, probably less likely than the sun blowing up tomorrow! Anyway back to planning, better to be safe than sorry, right? Peace.
Hey there,
You’re probably right – won’t happen overnight – we’ll see a buildup of incidents over a period of a couple of weeks. As far as a kill shot, that depends on the virus – it could mutate the body to the point that the other organs aren’t important, essentially leaving an animated dead body.
Bill
*Whistle* Wow, look at the years plummet down, almost like our economy. Anyway, so much for time to prepare, if it hits this early it looks liike spears and handmade bow and arrows for me!
Hey there,
This may be due to the Halloween holiday – so many more people searching for zombie material and information – this happened last year also. Heaven help us if the zombie apocalypse actually happened around Halloween – we would think it was a false alarm!
Bill
Yo guys, back after a short while to check up and how much and quickl Ima need to prepare and I see that its moved up a good 4 or 5 years, awesome. Thats right the time Ill have enough cash to put my plan to action. Although we may not make it till’ then since 2012 will be rolling around here pretty soon, now wouldnt that be dissapointing, for the world to end, and not even by the hands of the zombies. Id get pretty excited if the prediction starts rolling down into 2012 o.O Peace.
Hey there …
Welcome back – yep -more time to prepare. Haven’t been able to figure out why the ZAPD has slipped out 3-4 years. It’s because the search results for “zombie” has way outpaced the searches for “zombie apocalypse”. This may be due to the popularity of zombies in general as the term zombie becomes a household word. We’ll have to see if the trend continues…
Bill
dude, i so hope this freaking happens. I may not be fast but i’ve seen enough movies and read enough books to know a thing or two about protecting myself. I can use knives and i’m not to bad with a gun. Your right the best thing is knowledge and in this case it is so true. From my knowledge not staying in one place for to long is a good idea as you will run out of food, ammo and basically the essentials fairly rapidly depending on your location and the number of people with you. I myself would pack myself into my moms car, pick up my buddies and head to the nearest town and break into a car dealership for better rides. This way i know it’s new and durable and i can modify it whenever and wherever i find convenient to my needs and cause. Next thing i’m doin is stoppin by the best loved Wal*Mart. I can stock up on duffle bags which will provide easy means of carying lots of guns, food, ammo, maybe some books to pass the time and other things i may have already had. All of these would be placed in their own duffle bags and labeled. Then me and my gang r headin out to someplace with a boat and although this sounds weird i’m makin us go into the dang bremuda triangle. there is bound to be an island in the middle of all that magnetic current so we’d take a wooden boat of course. Although if we couldn’t go their i’d make my way to Alaska and camp out their as i know the wilderness from having lived their. All of the locations are subject to change at a moments notice, but feel free Bill to let me know your thoughts on this.
Hey Rayne,
Nice plan. I have to say this is the first time I’ve heard of hiding out from the zombie apocalypse in the Bermuda Triangle! Brilliant! We can’t seem to find anyone there so I doubt the zombies can. I would go ahead and take a metal boat, though, and let that magnetic force draw you right to the island.
Bill
Bill, don’t have a gun. safest place to hide in my house?
AAAAH! Bill,
Please tell me everything I should do to get prepared!
HELP!
I’m scared out of my mind Bill ! What if like a whole bunch of zombies come to your door and you don’t have guns? Would it be safe to lock everything and hide yourself. I mean I’d probably commit suicide if they came in but just a couple questions. I don’t know how to use a gun! Would they be fast? Or slow? Could I randomly drive away or will I be screwed as soon as I loose gas? Are zombies severely stupid? Where should I go if they do come??
HELP!
Hey Taylor,
Not to worry – you don’t need a gun. Just lock yourself in and keep quiet. They’ll go away. The best way to deal with fear is knowledge. If you’re reading zombie blogs you probably already know more about zombies than most people. I don’t think you have to worry for a few years – plenty of time to get smart.
Bill
Lol, Im not saying I hope that the zombie apocalypse will happen but I would be a bit disappointed if it didnt, Ive put alot of time and effort into my plan and I think that it would turn out O.K. for me in the end, if not then I would probably last a few years so here it is. At the moment I happen to be living in Illinois, not gonna say where. But close enough to a city. Although in the next few years myfamily and I expect to move to Phoenix, the house we are gonna move into is almost a perfect fortress, although I admit it needs tons of improvement if it would be a holdout. As for its location its in a slightly populated area, back close to a hill/mountain, we are hoping to get some solar panels installed, it has 5-6 foot fences in the back and a 2 foot fence up front, Staircase up to the roof with gate blocking the stairs, can be opened of course, and if the zombies do come I am going to try the sand charcoal thing to collect water, and if that fails I hope to try to make an agreement with our neighbor who is on the hill/mountain behind us, he generates nearly 72 gallons of water a minute. I expect him to live since he has nearly 7 foot walls surrounding his place, made of 2 foot thick concrete. MAybe we could get some radios and make an alliance, who knows. I also hope to get tents pitched up on parts of the roof that arent covered with solar panels, for lookouts, wed have to have ladders leading up to some. Now at this house the glass is designed not to break, and there is a second little house too. This could also be used as a lookout or an extra house. As you can tell it is a pretty big house in a wide open area, on the roof we could probably see everything in a mile radius, but if we got up on the garage possibly 3 mile radius. Now the garage could also be used as extra housing since it looks like it could hold a few of those city busses, it also has an extra bathroom. Now my plan to me seems pretty good so far, I would hope to gather up our neighbors that dont have very defendable houses to join our group, since this would require 20 or 30 people to make this a really defendable place. The only fault that I see is that we do not own a gun, I would hope to quickly spend almost all our money before the infection reaches our state or continent and buy 4 barret .50 cals for lookouts on the roof, 4 XM806 Lightweight .50 Caliber Machine Guns for defence and lots of single shot rifles since assault rifles are a waste of ammo, I mean if theyre the kind of zombies you have to aim for the head than sure an asault rifle is good but you need the ammo for it so single shots I think are better. In this area there are about 1000+ people so were gonna need abit of ammo, purchased along with the weapons, I would also like to get some silencers, as to not attract every single infeced in the area by just shooting one. Obviously were gonna have to learn how to use these weapons although every single one of our neighbors own and know how to use a gun(besides us, ofcourse T.T) and because of the hot weather in phoenix I expect all infected to rot and turn skeletal within a 4 or 5 month period, rate my plan if you like, and tell me what to improve on, I wanna be prepared. Peace.
Hey Phoenix_Soon,
Nice plan and very comprehensive – I like it. A couple of comments:
1 – Good idea not to tell anyone your exact location in advance – you’ll have enough trouble dealing with the Z’s without 1000 people asking for shelter because they heard about this awesome hideout.
2 – I would add some crossbows and a good supply of arrows – they’re excellent for their accuracy and quiet – and easier to come by than silencers.
3 – You may want to prepare for longer than 6 months. You’re correct that all the Z’s will be dead in 4-5 months, BUT – you’re assuming everyone turns at once. This probably won’t be the case because during the first few months there will be new turns all the time – fresh zombies, so to speak.
Otherwise – great job and an awesome plan – after the zombie apocalypse if I’m in the area I’ll look you up – perhaps we can join our forces.
Bill.
hey bill, im 13 and am now terrified…please send me an email and tell me if this formula you made really works
Hi Brian,
Not to worry. The zombie apocalypse prediction date is purely hypothetical and extremely theoretical. Who knows what the odds are of a zombie apocalypse? Nobody knows, but you’re more likely to be hit by lightning, win the lottery, become a rock star, play in the NFL, etc., than you are likely to encounter a zombie. If the odds were in favor of a zombie apocalypse, then the formula will come into play.
One of the goals of the website is to make people aware and help them get prepared for a zombie apocalypse. Should it happen, I think most people know what to do, and the zombies probably won’t stand a chance.
Bill.
Is there any way to port this over to another site? BTW, love it, freakin’ ingenious!
Hi David,
There’s code on the page for adding the image to another site – and also there is a script at the bottom of the comments that can be used to return just the current apocalypse date without the image. Have fun!
Bill
Hopefully, the zombies don’t come too soon, because it will take some amount of time to prepare. Not only that, but how many people will go insane and start murdering uninfected people? (Because they are afraid..) Is being in the middle of nowhere really a GOOD thing? I mean if you have a cabin of your own with safety supplies, food, water, and the shelter itself. Wouldn’t be a little safer? I mean nowhere is safe during Z day… only safer.
Hi Hannahn99,
Luckily we still have a couple of years to prepare. I think being out in the middle of nowhere is a good thing – holed up in a cabin – as long as you have supplies and guns. You’ll have problems with zombies and assholes both. Tin cans and string make a great perimeter alarm for both, but you’ll need to be able to deal with either threat should your alarm go off.
Bill.
Theres no such things as zombies as entertaining as the movies are and as fun as they are to kill in games theyre not real and theres no zombie apocalypse ever, the end
Your really retarded if you think that.
this is a pretty good sistum but i see one flaw, many people consider zombies to be imposable and will think it all a joke. so only the guys who think the zompoc will happen will do the serchs, and you dont know what these zombies will be like. smart idea but theres more to facter into it.
if enough people start hearing rumors people will still be curious
hey,
what you think about all this nonsense related to the end of the world in May 21, 2011?
Hey there AJ,
Well, I sure hope they’re wrong, because I don’t want to miss the zombie apocalypse. One thing is for sure – it will take a while for the world to end. It’s supposed to start on May 21, but they say it could take up to 5 months until the end is truly here.
Bill.
yeah, if i missed the zombies, i’d be so sad, who doesnt like a good zombie fight?
im so ready for the zombie apo. i going to kick some siuiros zombie butt i got pistols shotguns and a baseball bat and a knife IM READY
Hmm, any chance this could be pushed back 3 days to occur on the 7th? Happy Birthday to me. Now blow out the zombie so you can hit the zombie pinata.
Hey there,
I just checked the history and the apocalypse prediction has never hit July 7th – yet I guess. So far you won’t have to worry about zombies surprising you with their apocalypse on your birthday!
Bill.
WHO CARES DOES IT REALLY MATTER PEOPLE
OF COURSE IT MATTERS ZOMBIES ARE A SERIOUS FICTIONAL THREAT WHEN A ZOMBIE COMES KNOCKING ITS STUB ON YOUR DOOR REMEMBER YOU HAD A CHANCE TO BE READY BUT YOU WERE TOO BUSY PRESSING YOU CAPS LOCK AND FORGETTING PUNCTUATION TO GET TO IT
I believe zombie apocalypse would be more likely to happen from either re-animation of the body after death or some kind of plague but i don’t see how search engine results would have anything to do with the actual zombie apocalypse.
Hi Charles,
When the zombie apocalypse begins, it will largely go unnoticed by the world at first – especially if it starts in a third world country or a repressive country where information is suppressed or hidden. People will begin to hear rumors and out of fear will use search engines to get more information or see if the rumors are true. As the apocalypse gets under way, the search engines will be flooded with requests for information and the news sites on the net will have a plethora of stories about the outbreak. Many organizations are using search engines to mine data for current events – for example, flu outbreaks are now tracked and cataloged using search engine results as an additional tool to determine where the outbreaks occur – it has been found to be a valuable tool because where outbreaks occur there is a flood of search requests for flu symptoms, cures, care information, etc., and the geographic location of the search tells them where the outbreak is occurring. I hope to use geographic information some day to pinpoint locations of search traffic as well. Anyway, thank you very much for the post!
Bill.
hey, do you know the chances of a zombie apocalypse occuring?
I don’t understand, where do you get these dates from?
Hi Brandon,
Each morning, I count the number of news stories about zombies and the zombie apocalypse, and I count the number of search results returned for zombies and the zombie apocalypse. I plug these values into the formula and the result is the number of years until the zombie apocalypse. This morning, the formula returned 1.6894115300459 years, which, when added to today’s date comes out to July 15, 2012 at 7:44 PM.
Bill.
Hi! Any chance you could provide a separate script that returns only the date? I would provide a credit link elsewhere on the page. Please email me for specifics.
Hi Alfonso,
Yes – I think I can do that – I’ll work on a script this weekend for you.
Bill.
Yes – this script will return the zombie apocalypse prediction date:
http://wezombie.com/zapd.php (returns date in unix epoch format)
http://wezombie.com/zapd.php?h (returns date in human readable format)
Enjoy,
Bill.