Is the end of the world today?
The ancient Mayan calendar supposedly predicted a 12/21/12 apocalypse a long, long time ago, but is this Friday (also the winter solstice), really doomsday?
Apparently not. Their calendar supposedly runs out at 5 a.m., over two HOURS ago.
Unless they were somehow issuing predictions on West Coast, Alaska or Hawaii time, THG officially calls shenanigans on your apocalypse, Mayans.
Weaksauce ancient civilization.
The December 21 apocalypse frenzy is working overdrive in any case, as doomsday speculation and gossip has permeated across the globe.
Not surprisingly, few in the Mayan heartland in what is current day Mexico believe the predictions. More surprisingly, some Michigan kids got out of school.
South of the border, a little apocalypse is good for business, as a large crowd at the Merida Convention Center on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula showed.
At a ceremony, participants held up their arms and chanted mantras to the blazing tropical sun, which quickly torched the mostly fair-skinned crowd.
While raking in cash, organizers of Yucatan’s Mayan Culture Festival actually tried to debunk the idea that the Mayans called for the end of the world.
The Maya measured time in 394-year periods, or baktuns. The 13th baktun ends around December 21, 2012, and 13 is considered a sacred number.
However, anthropologists uncovered Mayan symbols that refer to dates far, far in the future, long beyond 12/21/12, indicating way more baktuns.
Other scientists liken the end of the baktun to an odometer on a car that hits 999,999 and simply rolls over to 000,000 with no damage whatsoever.
Not that everyone’s complaining about the apocalyptic hype.
The crazy rumors got Michigan officials so worked up they closed 30 schools after class Wednesday, two days earlier than originally on the calendar.
The school one, not the Mayan one. Better safe than sorry.
End of the World: Will it happen 12/21/12?