Zombie Apocalypse Prediction Date – ZAPD

With all of the strange news lately – cannibalism, raged-out people throwing intestines and chewing attacks, the media is alive with talk of the coming zombie apocalypse. This has moved the zombie apocalypse prediction date very close, less than a year out. Usually, this much zombie activity on the Internet happens only as Halloween nears.

If this were an actual zombie apocalypse, this is how it would start – seemingly random events of crazy attacks, government denial, and most importantly, people seeking news and advice on search engines. The ZAPD formula is based on this kind of information.

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

04/01/13 – Mar. 30, 2014 7:40 PM
04/02/13 – Mar. 27, 2014 6:06 PM
04/03/13 – Mar. 29, 2014 3:15 PM
04/04/13 – Apr. 2, 2014 8:52 AM
04/05/13 – Apr. 3, 2014 12:59 PM
04/06/13 – Mar. 27, 2014 11:30 AM
04/07/13 – Mar. 30, 2014 4:49 AM
04/08/13 – Apr. 3, 2014 9:53 AM
04/09/13 – Mar. 22, 2014 1:42 PM
04/10/13 – Apr. 4, 2014 7:35 PM
04/11/13 – Apr. 11, 2014 9:28 AM
04/12/13 – Apr. 05, 2014 2:44 PM
04/13/13 – Mar. 30, 2014 3:56 AM
04/14/13 – Apr. 5, 2014 7:39 PM
04/15/13 – Apr. 10, 2014 10:42 PM
04/16/13 – Apr. 15, 2014 1:08 PM
04/17/13 – Apr. 21, 2014 9:21 AM
04/18/13 – Apr. 11, 2014 11:56 PM
04/19/13 – Apr. 10, 2014 6:33 AM
04/20/13 – Apr. 13, 2014 2:11 AM
04/21/13 – Apr. 18, 2014 7:30 PM
04/22/13 – Apr. 20, 2014 6:05 PM
04/23/13 – Apr. 22, 2014 4:44 PM
04/24/13 – Apr. 30, 2014 8:48 PM
04/25/13 – Apr. 24, 2014 1:32 AM
04/26/13 – Apr. 28, 2014 9:24 AM
04/27/13 – Apr. 22, 2014 5:29 PM
04/28/13 – Apr. 30, 2014 7:26 PM
04/29/13 – Apr. 26, 2014 6:15 AM
04/30/13 – Apr. 24, 2014 4:48 AM
05/01/13 – Apr. 18, 2014 5:14 PM
05/02/13 – Apr. 28, 2014 5:31 PM
05/03/13 – Mar. 25, 2014 3:03 AM
05/04/13 – Apr. 1, 2014 5:12 AM
05/05/13 – Apr. 18, 2014 2:41 PM
05/06/13 – Apr. 2, 2014 6:17 AM
05/07/13 – Mar. 18, 2014 8:22 PM
05/08/13 – Apr. 5, 2014 5:48 PM
05/09/13 – Apr. 12, 2014 2:17 AM
05/10/13 – Apr. 30, 2014 4:23 PM
05/11/13 – May 3, 2014 11:31 AM
05/12/13 – May 16, 2014 6:22 AM
05/13/13 – May 7, 2014 1:05 PM
05/14/13 – May 15, 2014 3:36 PM
05/15/13 – May 21, 2014 7:14 AM
05/16/13 – Jun. 10, 2014 6:22 PM
05/17/13 – Jul. 23, 2014 8:55 AM
05/18/13 – Jun. 27, 2014 4:13 AM
05/19/13 – Jul. 3, 2014 3:46 AM
05/20/13 – Jul. 11, 2014 7:42 PM
05/21/13 – Jul. 2, 2014 5:50 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.