Me, too

Even the Maya are getting sick of 2012 hype: Apocalypse Next? Experts trace fears to modern, not ancient source

But most archaeologists, astronomers and Maya Indians say the only thing likely to hit Earth is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials — such as one on the History Channel that mixes predictions from Nostradamus and the Maya and asks: "Is 2012 the year the cosmic clock finally winds down to zero days, zero hope?"

Please. As a history student whose major professor was an expert in Apocalyticism, I've studied all sorts of Apocalypse rumours going back millennia. None of them have happened so far. It amazes me how people really get caught up in this stuff. As to the Mayan inscriptions, dates after 2012 are found, as referenced in the article. And mixing the Mayan question and Nostradamus is just plain stupid. I mentioned in a past post that I find the History Channel disappointing because its programmes are either extremely dumbed-down and unsatisfying, or simply have nothing to do with history at all.

:) This made me feel a little better

What can I say? Because it was my major professor's speciality, I studied mediaeval apocalypticism thoroughly.

Apocalypse Then: Our Favorite World Expiration Dates

To sum:

1. Year 1000 of the Christian calendar (for obvious reasons)
   
2. 666 after Islam has Pope Innocent III declare a coming apocalypse (1284)
3. Anabaptist prophet Melchior Hoffman claims Jesus will return (1533)
   
4. US Millerites claim Jesus will return October 22, 1844 (the Great Disappointment
   
5. 1910 Halley's (side note from me: really pronounced 'Hawley's', according to the astronomer's family) Comet returns
   
6. Jehovah's Witnesses predict several apocalyptic dates in the 20th century
   
7. A rare planetary alignment, the Jupiter Effect, creates fears of the end of the world
   
8. Heaven's Gate members commit suicide to ascend to comet Hale-Bopp (1997)
   
9. Year 2000 of the Christian calendar (for obvious reasons, plus the possibility of Y2K causing computers everywhere to blow up in our faces)
   
10. 2012: the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21
    

Check out the Wired.com story above for pictures and links for each

And a great site I found through the article is Armageddon Online, which has detailed apocalypses by date and type of apocalypse (destruction by man, destruction by volcano, etc.) from 30-1998 CE, many of them Christian, but not all. Check out the Whoops! Failed Armageddony Prophecies + Predictions for a complete list!

I personally believe that the Earth will end once it is enveloped by the Sun, but as to human civilisation, who knows? It'll probably be our own damn fault, and no celestial alignment or religious salvation will be the culprit.