[flyervet]

Well heck, He probably had a hernia.

An enormous hernia that ran most of the length of his body and all the way through his clothing.

And consider this - he might have has a collagen defect, they're rather common in certain populations in the south, incl. Alabama.

Actually, there are several different types of collagen defects, none of which that I've found would cause someone to "unzip" if hit the right way. Which defect are you speaking of? Anyway, I'm from Alabama, and while it's true that in our past we were known to have higher incidences of certain diseases here in the south (such as pelagra), I can assure you that if falling from a height of six inches and "unzipping" were rather common, we would have heard a lot more of this sort of story by now!

Of course, given the vigorous quality of farm life, you would expect that someone with such a severe "collagen disorder" would have had ample incidence to hit his skin in just the right way causing it to "unzip". Yet here we have a supposedly very fat man driving a single mule with a sled, a typical farm activity in early 20th century Alabama. So the man couldn't have been that fat, and it's doubtful he was that medically fragile.

[SarahW]

Sigh. I give up trying to convince you. No, all he would need is a lacerating blow to get the process started.

Well, I know more than you do about collagen defects, it seems. In fact I have a very mild form myself.

Yes, a persons skin can literally split open. And I'm not even getting to the other parts of the body that become more prone to injury and/or rupture. It isn't limited to skin.