There have been rumors of the world ending throughout the years. While the Y2K and the December 21, 2012 predictions are the first to come to mind when thinking about the apocalypse, there are only a couple of the many world-ending crises that people have heard of and have prepared for throughout history.
Thinking back to the turn of the century, many may remember the hysteria roused by the idea of entering a new millennia. Also known as the Y2K disaster, this ‘crisis’ was supposed to be set off through the computers. Since computers of the time only used two numbers to indicate the years, the change in timekeeping would face problems. For example, computers might indicate it was the year 1900 instead of 2000. However, through joint projects and the work of dozens of software teams, that crisis was averted without a single hitch.
The December 21, 2012 prophecy, more commonly known as the “End of the Mayan Calendar” event, is the recent doomsday prediction. The rumor is that since the Mayans did not continue their calendars past this date, the world would end on this date. Some people know the event solely based on the movie “2012,” the Hollywood version of the phenomena that released in 2009. One of the speculations on how the world might meet its doom is that the Earth will line up with the rest of the Milky Way and its gravity will engulf it. Another guess is that the Earth will experience multiple natural disasters. The credibility of these statements was proven false since the Earth is still here.
Some of the public started to prepare for the doomsday of Y2K and for 2012. “Doomsday Preppers” which airs on the National Geographic Channel shows families and their plans to live through doomsday. The show follows the family’s plan of escape and survival and rates the family in different categories. At the end of the show, the family is given an overall score and given tips on how to improve their plans. The show is entertaining and gives a good insight on how to prepare for an incoming disaster.
Throughout the years many disasters were supposed to befall the Earth. Y2K and the “End of the Mayan Calendar” are only two of the many that did not happen. People all over the world prepared and knew of the supposed disaster but once again the “disaster” did not occur. Hopefully there will be no more new doomsdays anytime soon.
