The End of the World?

If you're reading this post, you either have a few minutes left or the world didn't end as predicted by the Mayan calendar. You should also know that throughout history, the end of the world has often been predicted by lots of people -- all over the world. Just think of the chaos when the calendar changed from the year 999 to 1000, if anyone really was aware of it at the time instead of worrying about where the next meal was coming from, or surviving a common cold, or getting slaughtered by barbarians.

Every time a new century dawned, in fact, people held their breath or sold their goods/houses and waited for the end to hit. Then they had to start all over again, if they didn't die of embarrassment from being wrong. Or maybe they moved in with relatives, who might have thought "oh boy, here's the end of my world!"

I have to admit, I watched the movie 2012 with my curious hubby - and laughed at the incredible totally unbelievable plot. Cool special effects, though, if you're into that. I found Cowboys and Aliens more entertaining with a better message.

But hey, the Mayan calendar RUNS OUT on December 21, 2012. Lots of jokes about they ran out of room, or couldn't find another stone, or what have you.

And for heaven's sake, what about the possibility of Planet X changing course -- Nibiru that is -- and hitting Planet Earth!! Who wouldn't believe that NASA is just part of the conspiracy?

How about looking back between 1800 and 1900 in America for other End of the World events -- you might find it enlightening, to say the least. And these are just a FEW examples.

From April of 1843 until October of 1844, Millerites were rooked into following a charismatic leader. William Miller (1782-1849) -- a plain old farmer, plus a former atheist -- studied the books of Revelation and Daniel from the Bible and chose April 3rd, 1843, as the end of the world. Shooting stars in 1833 and a comet in 1843 seemed to confirm his prediction. Thousands of "Millerites" waited in New England -- although a few murdered their relatives and committed suicide to save time -- until the next day dawned.

Miller moved the "end of the world" to July 7th and began selling "ascension robes" of white. You get the picture -- July 8th came. Miller kept changing the date to March 21st of 1844 and then October 22nd -- but that day failed to bring more than a thunderstorm. And -- you guessed it -- 100,000 disappointed folks went home grumbling. A few formed new factions like the Seventh-Day Adventists. Miller made a fortune selling his robes and delivered over three thousand speeches. A true American con man.

In 1881, experts had used the measurements of the Great Pyramid of Cheops to predict a Second Coming and Day of Judgment. I'm math-challenged, so go figure how they figured this out. Supposedly they based their opinion on a couplet from the writings of Mother Shipton -- published in 1862 by Charles Hindley, and soon proved a forgery in 1873, that "The world to an end shall come in eighteen hundred and eighty one." Didn't even rhyme, either. So much for that prediction when 1882 rolled around. Conned by another con artist. He probably sold tons of books. You just can't trust authors! (insert winking smiley face here)

And in 1899, plenty of other idiots expected the world to end when January 1st, 1900, rang in a new century. Thank goodness the year 1999 had only Y2K problems. Some people believe that was a huge hoax now, and others believe the government used it as an excuse to install tracking software. Uh huh.

So hang onto your hats, people. Sure, look into the sky -- but don't expect to see much except a few moving airplane lights. You can always buy a tee shirt -- from Zazzle!