However, some cells -- not to mention the 100 trillion bacteria living in our intestines, on our skin and elsewhere -- continue to survive, which contributes to the variety things that happen to the human body after we die. First stop is algor mortis: the body loses about 1.5 degrees F per hour until it is the same temperature as the environment it's in. Next is livor mortis, or lividity, which is the pooling of blood and fluids at the lowest parts of the body. Depending on a person's skin color, this can appear as a dark purplish-blue. The next phase is rigor mortis, which is when a flood of calcium causes muscles to contract again and stay tense for the next 24 to 48 hours. If your eyes are open when rigor mortis sets in, they're going to stay that way for a while.
