If you believe the misinformed, sensationalised information about the world ending, then here are some facts for you.
It is complete nonsense that the Mayans predicted the end of the world because their calendar supposedly ended in 2012. In fact it is understood that, as in the same way as the rest of their dating system, it is based on a ‘long-count’ cycle. Meaning that once it gets to the end of this long-count period it simply resets, just like days of the week, months and seasons etc. It’s like saying that the world is going to end because the calendar hanging on your wall only goes up to December.
Originally, the story of the apocalyptic end of the world started with claims of a planet called Nibiru (sometimes called Planet X) – a planet supposedly discovered by the ancient Sumerian civilisation that once populated an area around what is now known as southern Iraq – was supposedly going to collide with Earth in an end-of-the-world type fashion. This world-ending, planet smashing catastrophe was scheduled to occur in May 2003, but when this didn’t happen (surprise, surprise), the doomsday date was conveniently moved to 2012 where it could be linked with the winter solstice and the end of the Mayan’s long-count cycle. There are other things that have been linked to the end of the world, but I suspect it isn’t going to happen any time soon.
If you still need more information about why the world will not end, here’s an article from the scientific geniuses over at NASA titled ‘Beyond 2012: Why the World Won’t End‘.
In the meantime, if your not planning for the end of the world be sure to check out the 8Y8 T-shirt sale to grab a bargain. The premiss may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the sale is very real. You can grab a hand printed T-shirt for only £8, and delivery is still free to the UK. It’s too late to get your order before christmas, but it will be a nice treat for the new year.
This will probably be the last you hear from me until 2013, so to those of you who plan on still being alive, have a good one and take it easy. See you in 2013.
