There's no denying that, in recent, years, the zombie has seen a bit of a renaissance. The success of books like The Zombie Survival Guide (which, incidentally, I always have a copy handy along with a shotgun, water, and rations) as well as movies and games has led to the zombie gaining popularity. In other words, the undead are in. Because of this, zombies have started showing up where you least expect them and making the world a much better, albeit deadlier, place. Here's a list of things being improved by a recent addition of the living dead.

College
If you've got some elective credits to spare, you might consider checking out Columbia College's course “Zombies in Popular Media.” It's a zombie-lover's dream. I finally get a chance to put all of those George A. Romero-inspired rants about consumerism to good use. Check out the college's course description and remain envious of all C.C. undergrads.

Pride and Prejudice
If it's one thing Jane Austen missed when she penned her 1813 classic it's the inevitability of love overcoming all social obstacles zombies. Thankfully, author Seth Grahame-Smith has sought to correct this glaring omission in his revamping of the novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The product description pretty much says it all:

“"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" features the original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone crunching zombie action. ”

Consider me smitten. The book is available for pre-order through Amazon 

World War II
Game developer Treyarch had some big shoes to fill. 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was a runaway hit. For the next entry in the acclaimed series, the studio went back to its World War II roots in Call of Duty: World at War. But the killing of regular humans can only take you so far. Thank goodness for zombies. Aside from the game's single-player campaign, players are treated to a co-op minigame called Nacht der Untoten (Night of the Undead). Players work together to fight against an endless horde of zombie Nazis. Rewriting history to include zombies is, in my opinion, the only way to do it.

Pranks
Motorists in Austin, Texas were privy to a great prank with a zombie twist. Hackers managed to change a highway road sign to display “The end is near! Caution! Zombies Ahead” The authorities certainly weren't please but you can't deny the ingenuity needed to pull off something so hilarious. My only question is- how could people keep driving after reading this sign? Joke or not, you better believe I'd pull over and ready myself to battle the upcoming legions just in case. When dealing with zombies you can't be too careful.

Videogames
From last year's Left 4 Dead to the Resident Evil franchise and beyond, zombies have been showing up in video games for a long time. Recently, however, zombies have even been infecting (get it?) games that weren't originally made with brain-eating hordes in mind (get it?). Players of the online multiplayer in Grand Theft Auto IV found themselves in the midst of a zombie infestation as gamers reported being turned into Speedo-clad members of the undead. Likewise, players in World of Warcraft found strange crates in the port of Azeroth that, when touched, infected them with a disease for ten minutes that eventually turned them into zombies. It's nice to see an undead invasion can give old games a new twist.