Much ado has been made about the year 2012 and the Mayan calendar predicting the end of the world. While Doom’s Day prophecies are as common as failed weddings from the Bachelorette, they are largely ignored by most sane people.
Remember Minister Harold Camping? He went out on limb, not just once, but twice (I think there was a rounding error on his 1st prediction) urging us to empty our 401k’s and get ready for the big end. Sadly for him, he was proven wrong on both occasions.
Other near-famous unsuccessful prophecies include…
Haley’s Comet 1910…Stories abounded about a horrific gas cloud called Cyanogen that trailed the infamous comet (which incidentally was not named for the early rock ‘n roll star, but for some astronomer). Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and years later we eventually were able to “Rock Around the Clock”.
Heaven’s Gate 1997…It’s obvious that Comets play a big role in determining the end of the world. The Heaven’s Gate cult believed that an alien spacecraft was following the comet Hale-Bopp. Sadly, the members of the cult put their money where their mouth was and committed suicide fearing it was their only chance to survive before the Earth was “recycled”.
Y2K…Many feared computers would fail to understand the change from 1999 to 2000 causing massive blackouts, nuclear weapons launching and toilets to stop working. Thankfully, we were able to still flush in the new millennium.
I personally never held much stock in these predications until I learned that Snookie’s due date is December 21, 2012; the exact same date as predicted by the Mayans. Now I always considered “Jersey Shore” to be some kind of preview as to what the end of the world would look like, but I ask you; what are the odds?
You may think I’m being foolish, but I for one plan on cashing in my IRA and heading to Belize to party with the Mayans. If the world is going to end, I want to be with the folks who got it right.
