End-of-the-World Countdown Based on Mayan Calendar Starts Today

[Iceaxe]

2012 End-of-the-World Countdown Based on Mayan Calendar Starts Today

The countdown to the apocalypse is on.

We're one year away from Dec. 21, 2012, the date that the ancient Mayan Long Count calendar allegedly marked as the end of an era that would reset the date to zero and signal the end of humanity.
But will it?

There have been many end of times predictions over the years. Christian radio host Harold Camping faced widespread ridicule when his predictions that the world would end twice this year - on May 21, and then on Oct. 21 - failed to materialize.

But in the flurry of doomsday predictions - there have been similar dire warnings about the world coming to an end from various cultures, including Native Americans, the Chinese, Egyptians and even the Irish - the supposed Mayan prophecy seems to have held the most sway with believers.

The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy. Advanced mathematics and primitive astronomy flourished, creating what many have called the most accurate calendar in the world.

The Mayans predicted a final event that included a solar shift, a Venus transit and violent earthquakes.
Their Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and they wrote that the 13th Baktun ends on Dec. 21, 2012.

The doomsday theories stem from a stone tablet discovered in the 1960s at the archaeological site of Tortuguero in the Gulf of Mexico state of Tabasco that describes the return of a Mayan god at the end of a 13th period.

"The Maya are viewed by many westerners as exotic folks that were supposed to have had some special, secret knowledge," said Mayan scholar Sven Gronemeyer. "What happens is that our expectations and fears get projected on the Maya calendar."

Gronemeyer, of La Trobe University in Australia, compares the supposed Mayan prophecies to the "Y2K" hype, when people feared all computer systems would crash when the new millennium began on Jan. 1, 2000.

For some reason, Gronemeyer says, people have ignored evidence that dates beyond 2012 were recorded.
The blogosphere exploded with more speculation when Mexico's archaeology institute acknowledged on Nov. 24 a second reference to Dec. 21, 2012, on a brick found at other ruins.

"Human beings seem to be attracted by apocalyptic ideas and always assume the worst," Gronemeyer said.
Believers have taken the end-of-the world fears to the Internet with hundreds of thousands of websites and blogs. Yet others are capitalizing on the heightened interest. Films depicting the end of the world - including the 2009 movie, "2012? - are contributing to the mounting hype as well as to misinformation, experts say.

In southern Mexico, the heart of Maya territory, a yearlong celebration is planned.

Mexico's tourism agency expects to draw 52 million visitors by next year only to the regions of Chiapas, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Campeche. All of Mexico usually lures about 22 million foreigners in a year.

It's selling the date, the Winter Solstice in the coming year, as a time of renewal. Many archeologists argue that the 2012 reference on a 1,300-year-old stone tablet only marks the end of a cycle in the Mayan calendar.

"The world will not end. It is an era," said Yeanet Zaldo, a tourism spokeswoman for the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun. "For us, it is a message of hope."

For those who are thinking about how to spend what could be their last year on earth, here's another message of hope: According to recent research, the mythological date of the "end of days" may be off by 50 to 100 years.

To convert the ancient Mayan calendar to the Gregorian (or modern) calendar, scholars use a numerical value (called the GMT). But Gerardo Aldana, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has said the data supporting the widely-adopted conversion factor may be invalid.

Aldana isn't the only detractor.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration - yes, that's NASA - has also weighed in on the issue.
The agency's scientists posted answers to the most popular questions about the end-of-times theory associated with the prophecy.

"Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know," the 2009 web page post says.

The answers addressed questions about whether there were any known threats to the Earth and the truth about the calendar.

One of answers posted was to the question of the possible approach of Nibiru (or Planet X or Eris), a supposed wayward planet that is said could pose a threat to Earth. The answer was a definitive rejection of the idea.

"Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax," scientists wrote. "There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles."

[Don]

Meh.

[Iceaxe]

Looks like Don is going to miss out on all the looting and pillaging next December.

[BLUEberryBOB]

For the last damn time, there is NOTHING around, or on the Mayan calendar that states "your asses will die 2012". The calendar just ends, just like it begins 10k BC.

[Don]

Looks like Don is going to miss out on all the looting and pillaging next December.

IF the end of a calendar meant the end of civilization and looting and pillaging I'd miss most of it anyway; I'm in the National Guard where we would get called up to help maintain order by shooting the looters. Of course, in order to avoid the long term regret and post traumatic stress, I'll try to use rubber bullets on people I know and friends, so you should survive...

[stefan]

to point out ... the "calendar" doesn't "end." it's merely the end of a long cycle of the calendar and a new cycle will begin immediately following the date.

the long count cycle is about 394 years and ends on dec 21 2012

however if you believe in the x-files this is the set date for the final alien recolonization of the planet.

[Iceaxe]

[accadacca]

[BruteForce]

Well, I'm stocked up on ammo and most of my neighbors are stocked up on food. We're good for 2012!

[Byron]

I'm going to laugh my ass off when the sun comes up the next morning. What really baffles me is that the people that are buying into this crap, or even consider it a possibility, must also believe that the future is predetermined. I have yet to see any evidence, ever, of anyone predicting the future. Show me don't tell me...
They say there's a sucker born every minute. I think if 1000 babies come into this world every minute, then perhaps 800 are destined to have shit for brains. How's that for a prediction? Thousands of con men are making bank on this.
We all know what the oldest profession in the world is, right? You know what the second oldest profession is?...Figuring out how to make money without having to work for it.

[CarpeyBiggs]

I think if 1000 babies come into this world every minute, then perhaps 800 are destined to have shit for brains. How's that for a prediction? Thousands of con men are making bank on this.

glen, how do thousands of con men make bank off this? i'd like to get in on THAT party. i love easy money, especially when i don't have to work for it. and i certainly don't want to be counted as one of the fools with shit for brains.

the way i see it, if the sun doesn't come up the next morning, well then at least i know i was right. and if the world doesn't end, well then... at least i'll be rich. just like you! we can both laugh our asses off together, eat deliciously bloody celebratory steaks, and then wipe the silly mess off our faces with $100 bills! either way, WIN!

you probably don't want to tell everyone how easy or lucrative this scam is, so just send me a PM with some details, and what percentage of the profits you think is fair. thanks buddy!

[Byron]

Google "End of world 2012" and there's plenty of places you can piss your money away.

[CarpeyBiggs]

glen, i think you might have misunderstood me. i don't want to piss away any of my own money. i want to scam idiots out of their money, so i have more money. as far as i can tell, getting rich by exploiting shit-brained idiots is the best way to have a happy successful life.

though after reading your compelling argument in this thread, i find myself conflicted. at first, i just figured i'd start my own religion since that seems pretty profitable, but now you present some very sound and irrefutable evidence that this whole "end of the world" business is the easiest thing to sell the idiots of this world. i just kinda figured you had a pretty good scheme set up already? i have a couple ideas i think could be good for the both of us that maybe you haven't thought of yet. we might be good partners?

just mull it over and get back to me at your convenience.

[Byron]

Dude, take a chill pill.

[BLUEberryBOB]

Check the dates on the calendar to events across the globe and you'll find yourself looking at a repeating pattern that is roughly 400yrs in the making.

IF the end of a calendar meant the end of civilization and looting and pillaging I'd miss most of it anyway; I'm in the National Guard where we would get called up to help maintain order by shooting the looters. Of course, in order to avoid the long term regret and post traumatic stress, I'll try to use rubber bullets on people I know and friends, so you should survive...

[KapitanSparrow]

The end of the world is one of the reasons I moved from Utah to New York. I'm a pretty good swimmer so I figured I rather take my chances with the apocalyptic tsunami wave than the Yellowstone caldera blowing up. Plus it's easier to get the ladies here.

[bbennett]

The end of the world is one of the reasons I moved from Utah to New York. I'm a pretty good swimmer so I figured I rather take my chances with the apocalyptic tsunami wave than the Yellowstone caldera blowing up. Plus it's easier to get the ladies here.

Holy sh!t, you're alive! Welcome back.

[KapitanSparrow]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. Again.

[homerj]

... I figured I rather take my chances with the apocalyptic tsunami wave than the Yellowstone caldera blowing up.

If it blows, I wanna be taken out in the initial blast rather than starve to death after the ash blocks out the sun for years.