Rigor mortis is the reason why the word stiff is a slang term for a dead body. Two or three hours after a person or animal dies, the muscles start to stiffen. This phenomenon progresses in a downward, head-to-toe direction. In 12 to 18 hours the body is, as the saying goes, stiff as a board. At this stage, you can move the joints only by force, breaking them in the process. It takes about two days for rigor mortis to fade, and once it does, decay sets in. If the body isn't embalmed or cooled to 38 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 degrees Celsius) or below, it will quickly decompose. To people who work in mortuaries, rigor is an unimportant, temporary condition.
According to the US Census Bureau, the average annual income for households in Vermont was $52,111 in 2008. This is just over the national average of $52,029.
The amount of snow Vermont receives varies from winter to winter and from one region of the state to another. The lower elevations near Lake Champlain receive about 60 inches of snow each year. Up to 120 inches of snow may fall each year in the southern Green Mountains.The average temperature for the winter season is 22 degrees F. The cold weather is broken up by thaws when temperatures reach 40 or 50 degrees F. and the snow melts.Toward the end of March, the grip of winter begins to weaken.ver time, they gather many weather records of temperatures and precipitation for places. These patterns of weather describe the climate of a place. The weather is always changing and sometimes difficult to predict, but the climate is more steady. Vermont's climate is classified as Continental Moist.