2012 apocalypse

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[[File:Books of "2012 phenomenon" (Paperback spines).jpg|thumb|right|165px|A terrifyingly large selection of Russian language books on the 2012 apocalypse]]
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{{cquote|A very high ''[sic]'' sunspot is expected in 2012. When that happens, a huge, an ''enormous'', a '''''gigantic, GARGANTUAN''''' solar flare will be thrown to the earth, and that will destroy our civilization.|||Patric Geryl, notorious 2012 Maya apocalypse pusher<ref name="bullshit">''[[Penn & Teller: Bullshit!]]'', episode 7.04, ''The Apocalypse''</ref><ref>''The World Cataclysm in 2012: The Maya Countdown to the End of Our World'' by Patric Geryl (2005) Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBN 1931882460.</ref><ref>''The Orion Prophecy: Will the world be destroyed in 2012? Prophecies from the Maya and the Old Egyptians'' by Patrick Geryl & Gino Ratinckx (2001) Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBN 0932813917.</ref><ref>''How To Survive 2012: Tactics & Survival Places For The Coming Pole-Shift'' by Patrick Geryl (2007) Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBN 1931882681.</ref>}}
The '''2012 apocalypse''' was the belief that civilization as we know it would come to an end in 2012. This bizarre idea was inspired by the Mayan Long Count calendar,<ref>[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-03-27-maya-2012_n.htm Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse?] by G. Jeffrey MacDonald (2011) ''USA Today''.</ref> which completed a cycle on the day corresponding to our Gregorian calendar date of December 21<sup>st</sup> 2012 [[CE]].  

The belief that this was a prediction of the world ending is something akin to believing [[Y2K|the world is going to end on December 31<sup>st</sup> 1999]] because the year 2000 starts with a 2 instead of a 1. An even more apt description is that it is the equivalent of believing the world will end on December 31<sup>st</sup> because you have to throw away this year's calendar, and go out and buy a new one for next year. Modern-day Maya found this all utterly ridiculous, furthering the [[irony]] of anyone who subscribes to [[noble savage]] crap anymore.

A number of pop culture books and websites tried to give this idea some [[scientific]] support,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20090831072606/http://www.apocalypse2012.com/us "Apocalypse 2012: An Investigation Into Civilization's End"]</ref> but as per normal with [[pseudoscience]], only the evidence that [[Cherry picking|fit the belief]] was cited. 

The nonsense stole hours of many of the world's population as it received a significant amount of mainstream media attention, usually telling people what they already knew: that the world ''isn't'' going to end.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/science/2012/11/20/does-anyone-really-believe-in-mayan-apocalypse.html As did] [[Fox News]]</ref><ref>Even the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2066110/There-second-Mayan-reference-apocalypse-2012-Mexico-archaeologists-admit.html gets it right]!</ref> Nonetheless, the idea was taken seriously by some people. [[NASA]] said that it received many emails and letters from worried people — especially those with the weakest [[critical thinking]] skills: the young — some saying that they couldn't eat, had trouble sleeping, or were suicidal.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/science/2012/11/29/2012-mayan-apocalypse-rumors-have-dark-side-nasa-warns.html 2012 Mayan apocalypse rumors have dark side, NASA warns] by  Stephanie Pappas (Published November 29, 2012; Last Update November 21, 2016) ''Fox News''.</ref> It was responsible for at least one [[suicide]], a 16-year-old from the [[UK]].<ref>[https://www.news.com.au/world/suicide-teen-feared-end-of-world/news-story/f78728c52e1e88e7491b4272d8ad513e Suicide teen feared end of world], AFP</ref> People around the world prepared for the coming apocalypse,<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099714/Meet-preppers-Up-3-MILLION-people-preparing-end-world-know-it.html Fill the pool with fish and stockpile the guns: Up to THREE MILLION 'Preppers' in the U.S. are prepared for for the end of the world] by Tara Brady (Updated: 12:30 EDT, 11 February 2012) ''Daily Mail''.</ref><ref>[http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/20/3789614/apocalypse-preparation-photos People around the world prepare for the impending apocalypse] by Kimber Streams (Dec 20, 2012, 5:01 pm EST) ''The Atlantic'' via ''The Verge''.</ref><ref>[http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/06/23/Many_Dutch_prepare_for_2012_apocalypse/UPI-40461214263554/ Many Dutch prepare for 2012 apocalypse] (June 23, 2008 / 7:25 PM) ''UPI''.</ref> and in [[China]] elderly people were persuaded to part with their life savings.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9729270/China-fears-end-of-the-world-is-nigh.html China fears the end of the world is nigh: China is taking the date of December 21 — the day the world is due to end — seriously, with panic buying of candles sweeping through counties. Malcolm Moore reports.] by Valentina Luo (11:13AM GMT 07 Dec 2012) ''The Telegraph''.</ref>

==Before we begin…==
[[Predictions of the end of the world]] happen, quite literally, all the time. Not a single one has ever come true,{{fact|joke}} and not a single one has ever been based on enough [[evidence]] to merit serious consideration. The date that was "predicted" by the Mayan calendar (though see below for why this isn't really right, either) was simply [[shoehorn]]ed into pre-existing [[doomsday scenario]]s — from killer comets to apocalyptic planetary alignments. None of this was new — it had been said before and will undoubtedly be said again about another date which will ''also not come true''.

==The Mayan calendars==
To calculate the date of the supposed "end of the world", proponents "consulted" three Mayan calendars:
*The 260-day-long calendar called ''Tzolk'in'', which is used for [[religion|religious]] ceremonies and is divided into 20 weeks of 13 days.
*The 365-day-long calendar called ''Haab''', which is used for planting crops.
*The Long Count calendar.
There is a fourth calendar based on [[Venus]], but that calendar isn't important to the apocalypse.

Once every 52 Haab' cycles, the Haab' cycle and Tzolk'in cycle begin on the same day. This is known as a "calendar round."  As a result the Maya could only record dates for 18,980 days (about 52 years),<ref group="note">18,980 days being the lowest common multiple of 365 days (ignoring the more modern concept of leap years) and 260 days. 52 ''Haabs'' (analogous to years) and 72 ''Tzolk'ins''.</ref> one for each day in the round, which should have seen the average Mayan through most of their life. However, being extremely pedantic people, these weren't enough days for the Maya, so they created the Long Count calendar.

[[Image:Maya.png|thumb|right|The Maya were highly advanced [[mathematician]]s who used their toes when counting.]]
The Long Count calendar counts the number of days since Creation (described by Maya [[mythology]] as August 11, 3114 BCE) in base twenty, with four exceptions:
*August 11<sup>th</sup>, 3114 BCE is 13.0.0.0.0 on the Long Count. 
*August 12<sup>th</sup>, 3114 BCE is 13.0.0.0.1
*August 30<sup>th</sup>, 3114 BCE is 13.0.0.0.19
*August 31<sup>st</sup>, 3114 BCE is 13.0.0.1.0

The second number from the right, the ''uinal'', only goes to 18. As 18 times 20 is 360 days, 0.0.1.0.0 or 1 ''tun'' represents approximately one year.<ref>[http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-mayan.html#anchor-long-count Mayan long count explained] at WebExhibits</ref>  The fifth number or ''baktun'', 1.0.0.0.0, is numbered 1 — 13 for no clearly obvious reason. Upon reaching 13.19.19.17.19, the calendar then ticks back over to 1.0.0.0.0. This would've last happened on November 13<sup>th</sup>, 2720 BCE.

The official use of this calendar began at 7.13.0.0.0 (September 12, 98 BCE). By the time the Spanish colonized the Yucatan peninsula, the Long Count was no longer in use. December 20<sup>th</sup>, 2012 CE was 12.19.19.17.19, and December 21<sup>st</sup> 2012 CE was (shock horror) 13.0.0.0.0 — the completion of one "Grand Cycle."

According to the Mayan [[creation myth]]s, we are living in the "fourth world."{{efn|No, not {{wpl|Fourth World (comics)|that one}}, unfortunately.}} The third is said to have ended on 12.19.19.17.19, and likewise, according to the apocalyptomaniacs, would the fourth. This is the origin of the notion that ''something'' would end on this date. 

The Maya themselves thought it was important enough to record events, such as [[eclipse]]s, that would occur after December 21<sup>st</sup> 2012 CE, so they didn't seem worried. In fact, the Maya had a unit of time, the ''alautun'', which corresponds to about 63 million years, or 1.0.0.0.0.0.0.0 on the Long Count (told you they were pedantic). Other temple markings seem to indicate that this may be a short-hand version of the calendar, as at least one temple puts August 31<sup>st</sup>, 3114 BCE as 13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.0.0.0.0. If this number is days since the [[universe]] began, the Maya had a much higher estimate than what is currently agreed upon. (In case you haven't noticed yet, the Maya were dead keen on the numbers [[13]] and 20.{{efn|[[Improbable things happen|And the year after the Mayan apocalypse is 2013! OMG!!!1!]]}}) They definitely did not expect the world to end in 2012.<ref>[http://www.universetoday.com/95097/end-of-the-world-averted-new-archeological-find-proves-mayan-calendar-doesnt-end/ End of the World Averted: New Archeological Find Proves Mayan Calendar Doesn’t End], ''Universe Today''</ref>

Interestingly, although ''not'' [[coincidence|coincidentally]],<ref>[[Neil deGrasse Tyson]] explains [http://youtu.be/QJjQMwEjC1I?t=57s here.]</ref> 11:11 December 21<sup>st</sup>, 2012 UTC was also when the winter (or if you don't live on the Mayan side of the equator, summer) [[solstice]] occurred.

===Modern Maya===
Modern Maya — the descendants of the people who ''made'' the calendar in question — never believed this whole story about a doomsday; they simply considered the year to be the beginning of a new era in a manner comparable to the new millennium in 2000. Like [[rational]] people from other [[culture]]s, they had lots of parties{{efn|The perfect party theme too. Dance like it's global annihilation!}} and a general lack of planes falling out of the sky. They thought the advocates were [[scam site|scammers]] and are probably always going to be quite pissed off at them.<ref>[http://phys.org/news/2012-10-maya-demand-doomsday-myth.html Maya demand an end to doomsday myth], AFP</ref>

Maya scholars, who actually specialise in Mayan culture, considered the [[woo]] merchants to be a little funny in the head as well, and are now enjoying post-2012, where they have stopped answering ''bloody stupid questions from idiots''. [[Yahoo! Answers]] was similarly flooded with breathless questions about whether the world was going to end, and those who spent time giving sensible answers to these questions breathed a similar sigh of relief when the date rolled around and people finally stopped asking about it.

==The apocalypse claim==
[[File:East side of stela C, Quirigua.PNG|thumb|right|185px|Inscription on the Mayan Long Count calendar showing the end of the date cycle, matching up to 21 or 23 December, 2012.]]
===Origins in proper anthropology===
In 1966, Michael D. Coe, an [[anthropologist]], "ambitiously"{{efn|That's the word [[Wikipedia]] uses, and we're sure they know their stuff.}} stated in his book ''The Maya''<ref>Coe, Michael D. (1966). ''The Maya.'' Ancient peoples and places series, no. 52 (1<sup>st</sup> ed.). London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500050619</ref> that:
{{cquote|There is a suggestion… that [[Armageddon]] would overtake the degenerate peoples of the world and all creation on the final day of the thirteenth [b'ak'tun]. Thus… our present universe [would] be annihilated when the Great Cycle of the Long Count reaches completion.}}

Coe's date was December 24<sup>th</sup>, 2011. He revised it to "11 January AD 2013" in the 1980 2<sup>nd</sup> edition of ''The Maya'',<ref>Coe, Michael D. (1980). The Maya. Ancient peoples and places series, no. 10 (2<sup>nd</sup> ed.), page 151. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-05061-3.</ref> settling on December 23, 2012 in the 1984 third edition.<ref>Coe, Michael D. (1984). The Maya. Ancient peoples and places series (3<sup>rd</sup> ed.), page 151. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-05061-3.</ref> The first person to match 13.0.0.0.0 to December 21<sup>st</sup>, 2012 was Robert J. Sharer in his 1983 revision of ''The Ancient Maya'' by Sylvanus Morley.<ref>The correlation of b'ak'tun 13 as 21 December 2012 first appeared in Table B.2 of Robert J. Sharer's 1983 revision of the 4<sup>th</sup> edition of Sylvanus Morley's book ''The Ancient Maya'' (Morley 1983, p. 603, Table B2).</ref>

Coe's assertion that the end of the Maya calendar was a [[prophecy]] of the end of the world was an interpretation of the [[New Age]] woo crowd.<ref>[http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~tkeene/apwhAnastasThe%20%28Mayan%29%20Final%20Days.htm The Final Days]</ref> However, other researchers (''e.g.'' Linda Schele and David Freidel in 1990) came to the conclusion that while the end of the 13<sup>th</sup> cycle would perhaps be a cause for partying like it's the Maya 1999, it did not prophesize the end of the world.<ref>[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-03-27-maya-2012_n.htm "Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse?"]</ref><ref>David Stuart, ''The Order of Days: The Maya World and the Truth about 2012'', Harmony Books, 2011</ref><ref>[http://www.webcitation.org/5l9xlWQ85 "The Uses and Abuses of the Ancient Maya"]</ref> The former notion passed from scholarly acceptance. And that's where it should have ended.

===Adoption by the New Age===
Unfortunately, the psychedelic end of the [[hippie]] culture had already picked up on it. [[Terence McKenna]] wrote about it in ''The Invisible Landscape: Mind Hallucinogens and The I Ching'' (1975), a book about the ''stupendous'' quantities of [[drug]]s he and his brother were taking at the time. Frank Waters, in ''Mexico Mystique: The Coming Sixth Age of Consciousness'', tied Coe's 2011 date to [[Hopi]] prophecies and [[astrology]]. José Argüelles (who later originated [[Earth Day]]) wrote of it in ''The Transformative Vision'' and listed the popular date, December 21<sup>st</sup> 2012, in his 1987 book ''The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology''. He claimed that, on this date, [[Earth]] would pass through a great "beam" (of some sort) from the centre of the [[Milky Way|galaxy]], and that the Maya had aligned their calendar to predict this event.

The 2012 notion was visible in the [[fringe]]s of [[New Age]]{{efn|And fear not, dear reader: If the phrase ''fringes of New Age'' fills you with a kind of horrified awe at the whackadoo potential of the fringe of something already as whackadoo as New Age, you're in good company.}} and anyone who could get a coherent sentence out of McKenna for many years. It went more mainstream with {{wpl|Daniel Pinchbeck}} pushing the idea as hard as possible since 2003, culminating in his 2006 bilge ''2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl'', tying the earlier theorists' work into [[crop circle]]s,{{efn|Thus, the 2012 apocalypse will be brought about by two drunk pranksters with ropes and planks stashed in the back of their Skoda.}} [[alien abduction]], and [[channelling]] entities whilst on [[drugs]]. The [[History Channel]] also cemented its reputation for hard-headed factual exposition with a 2006 show on the subject.

Once it had gained some momentum by the mid-2000s, it was all-in. Even [[Dan Brown]] used it (in ''[[The Lost Symbol]]''), the truly objective measure of a [[conspiracy theory]] having jumped the shark.

===Mechanism===
[[File:Chichen Itza 3.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Aliens!]]
Various unlikely, if not completely impossible, geological and astronomical events were put forth as possible causes of the apocalypse, such as: the return of [[Space aliens|aliens]] who supposedly made the [[pyramid]]s;<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041217021138/http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread104094/pg1 "The Aliens Who Made The Pyramids Will Return In 2012"] thread on [[Above Top Secret]]</ref>
magnetic [[Pole shift|pole reversal]];<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20131030220051/http://www.polereversal.com/ "2012 Magnetic Pole Reversal"]</ref> near miss by hidden [[planet]];<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0bj76389U "Surviving 2012 and Planet X"]</ref> or astrological alignment with the galactic center.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010224073411/http://alignment2012.com/ "Alignment 2012 — John Major Jenkins"] (This guy remains one of the few who hasn't deleted his page out of sheer embarrassment yet.)</ref> The only common threads were scientific [[ignorance]] and [[wishful thinking]]. 

The "[[Planet X]]" hypothesis may be the most laughable. Any blurry, slightly round object in an astronomical photo was claimed to be an image of the elusive world. Apparently, the near-miss of Planet X would cause the Earth to stop rotating for several hours, then re-start. [[Gravity]] (and angular momentum, for that matter) can do whatever you want it to… when you're batshit [[insane]].

The pole reversal hypothesis was loosely based on very real evidence of magnetic pole reversal in the past. Volcanic rocks are regularly observed to have magnetic field lines not pointing in the direction they should if the north magnetic pole had been where it is at the time of their formation. By dating rocks, it's been determined that the poles have reversed numerous times in the past. This process is poorly understood, but it's generally assumed to take hundreds to ''thousands'' of years for a reversal, not overnight. Doomsayers, however, predicted that the reversal would have been sudden, and that various ill effects would have taken place, such as increased influx of solar [[radiation]] or, once again, that the Earth will stop rotating for several hours, then re-start in the opposite direction (another violation of the law of the conservation of angular momentum).

The galactic center thing was pure 
[[bullshit]]
 astrology<sup>.[what's the difference?]</sup> Something about the Earth, the [[Sun]], and the galactic core making a straight line at the solstice (which, incidentally, ''happens every year)''. "Planetary alignments" such as these are not terribly uncommon events on the cosmological timescale (in fact, many are inevitable due to {{wpl|orbital resonance}}), and the [[solar system]] has ''never'' collapsed in on itself because of them.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20110824075331/http://www.etsu.edu/physics/etsuobs/starprty/22099dgl/planalign.htm Planetary Alignments: Fact or Fiction?], East Tennessee State University</ref>

[[NASA]] scientist Dr. Tony Philips predicted large solar storms in 2012.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060316083100/http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10mar_stormwarning.htm Solar Storm Warning], NASA</ref> However, the world was not destroyed last time these occurred in 1859, nor did Philips suggest that it would be this time. (He actually turned out to be very close,<ref>[http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/08/01/solar_storm_a_massive_2012_cme_just_missed_the_earth.html The 2012 Solar Disaster That Almost Was], ''Slate''</ref> though of course these storms didn't bring any kind of disaster.)

McKenna suggested that the key to understanding 2012 is "timewave zero", a [[Numerology|numerological]] formula for "novelty", defined as increase in the universe's organised complexity over time. Apparently, the universe has a [[Teleology|teleological]] attractor at the end of time that increases interconnectedness, eventually reaching a [[singularity]] of infinite complexity in 2012, at which point anything and everything imaginable will occur simultaneously. He achieved this insight over several years' consumption of [[psilocybin]] and DMT in the 1970s.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=M4Z5xOx1INcC&pg=PT76&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History]</ref><ref>''True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradise'' by Terence McKenna (1993) Harpercollins. ISBN 9780062505453.</ref>  That last part at least is unsurprising.

====Scientific proof====
Unlike most pseudoscientific beliefs, the 2012 apocalypse contained a [[falsifiable]] prediction that could be tested by the [[scientific method]]. This prediction can be tested right now:

:'''''Are you alive? Is the world in any way more unusual than it was before?'''''

If you are alive and things are normal, the theory was complete and utter [[bullshit]].  ''And'', this should be a heads-up to apply more critical thinking next time you hear a new doomsday prediction.

==Outside science==
===Pop culture===
{{cquote|On December 22<sup>nd</sup> 2012, ''2012'' will be officially changed to the﻿ genre "comedy."|||Pintopinata<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyv1A8StJSs&lc=wFife9A_kqKXb4lSs5VUuQfXuafDwjhkvz1iuacRrjM 2012 & The End of the World], CGP Grey</ref>}}
A major [[Films|film]] was released by Columbia Pictures in November 2009, imaginatively titled ''2012''.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190080/ ''2012'' (2009)], IMDB</ref> Unfortunately, it was quite successful. It was directed by [[Roland Emmerich]] (known for also directing ''Independence Day'' and ''[[The Day After Tomorrow]]''), so it is an understated, character-driven romance against the backdrop of a well researched and realistic scenario of political intrigue and upheaval… well, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIUTUVVRtFA maybe] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AohOD6F_rwA not.] 

The viral marketing for the film was deservedly criticized for lending too much weight to [[crackpot]] conspiracies about the end of the world.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/nov/25/2012-ronald-emmerich 2012: a cautionary tale about marketing], ''The Guardian''</ref> The reason behind the apocalypse (according to the film's "science") was that [[neutrino]]s coming from the Sun had somehow mutated,<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXqUcuE8fNo THE NEUTRINOS HAVE MUTATED!]</ref><ref>''2012'' Script. '''Dr. Tsurutani''': "It looks like the neutrinos from the sun have mutated into a new kind of nuclear particle. They're heating up the earth's core and certainly act like microwaves."</ref> although curiously this sort of explanation was ''absent'' from how most predictions about the 2012 end of the world would occur. Now, the fact that this "mutating neutrino" stuff is total bullshit<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101226163952/http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/research/2010/09/24/2012-%E2%80%93%E2%80%93-the-movie-the-physics “2012" –– The movie, the physics], UT Austin</ref> — or, at least, "[[mutation]]" with respect to neutrinos certainly isn't as depicted — is beside the point; the film depicts neutrinos managing to heat up the Earth's core and boil underground [[water]] reserves, much like [[microwave]]s do, yet the [[human]] bodies standing around it (which are mostly made of water) don't seem to be adversely affected. Don't worry, the finale of ''Batman Begins'' makes pretty much the same mistake.

"Mockbuster" film studio ''The Asylum'' — most famous for its films [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I16_8l0yS-g ''Mega Shark''] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARpJBSTmcJ0 ''Sharknado''] and its horrific knock-offs of popular movies including ''The Day The Earth Stopped'' and ''Transmorphers'' — did not just one, but '''three''' knock-offs of ''2012'' for your bad movie night-viewing pleasure. ''2012: Ice Age'' ripped off ''The Day After Tomorrow'', ''2012: Supernova'' seemed to tear apart (actually decent [[sci-fi]]) ''Sunshine'' and ''2012: Doomsday'' was a straight up Mayan apocalypse of epic-but-low-budget proportions. There's a good case to be made that these three films are the very worst thing that the 2012 apocalypse phenomenon has caused.{{efn|Or the best thing, if you're in it for the "so bad it's good" laughs.}}

The film of ''[[The X-Files]]'' in 1998 notes 22 December 2012 as the day aliens return to Earth, foreshadowing an unknown doom. This did not prevent producers from releasing a not-nearly-as-good sequel.

In the opening sequence to the 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary episode of the long-running animated series ''The Simpsons'', Bart is seen writing on the chalkboard, "The world may end in 2012 but this show won't." Their 2012 Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" had an intro segment based around the Mayans failing to prevent the apocalypse because the wrong person was sacrificed.

[[Occult]]ist/comic book writer Grant Morrison regularly referenced the possibility of a 2012 apocalypse in their work, although usually in an [[Age of Aquarius]]-style paradigm shift rather than a literal end of the world scenario—it was the major plot device used in ''The Invisibles'', appears in their work on ''Batman'' and is at least referenced in nearly everything else they write. In interviews, Morrison admitted that they found the idea of anything at all happening unlikely, but found it compelling from a creative standpoint.<ref>As quoted in Callahan, T. (2011) ''Grant Morrison: The Early Years''.</ref>

The [[role-playing game]] ''Shadowrun'' is set in the Sixth World, where the end of the Mayan Long Count (which actually came a year early, but who cares) brought [[magic]] back to the world.

The conspiracy-theory-based MMORPG ''The Secret World'' has a special "End of Days" event around December 21<sup>st</sup>, 2012, which has re-occurred every year since.

The only truly noteworthy thing to happen on December 21, 2012 is that this is the day when the music video for "Gangnam Style" surpassed one billion views.<ref>[https://sites.google.com/site/pointlesslargenumberstuff/home/l/pgln2 "Pointless Large Numbers Stuff"]</ref> Of course, not even that could escape the 2012 apocalypse rumours, with a fake [[Nostradamus]] prophecy suggesting the world would end when the one billion view mark was reached.

===Politics===
A much more dire apocalypse would've been triggered by the election of former [[Alaska]] Governor [[Sarah Palin]] or [[Minnesota]] congressthing [[Michelle Bachmann]] to the [[White House]] in 2012. Luckily, that didn't happen… but a [[Donald Trump|worse apocalypse happened 4 years later]].

[[Gerald Celente|Some idiot]], who claims he is a "[[Technical analysis|trend forecaster]]", predicted an economic [[Obama]]geddon would occur in 2012. [[Fox news]] was happy to hand him a microphone.

===Televangelism===
{{main|Televangelist}}
[[Jack Van Impe]], fresh from his success predicting the [[rapture]] in [[Y2K]], said the Great Tribulation would start in 2012.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgW0O7wjtXw "Jack Van Impe: Tribulations starting in 2012"]</ref> Why a [[Christian fundamentalist]] would give any credence to what a bunch of those godless [[devil]]-worshiping [[pagan]]s said is a mystery for the ages.

===Pleiadians===
{{main|Pleiadians}}
The Pleiadians, a purportedly friendly bunch of aliens with an intense interest in the planet Earth, were set to arrive and their mission was to ''help us''.  All this evil disaster stuff is the type of nonsense that frightens [[children]].<ref>[http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=128488 "The Pleiadians & The Year 2012: the Mayan Year of Destiny, not Destruction"]</ref> Referring to [[Edgar Cayce]]'s opinion, the Pleiadian interest in Earth stems from the following:

{{quotebox|Cayce is informing us that in a previous [[Cyclical theory|time cycle]], humanity had a level of consciousness and relationship with the Creative Forces that allowed us to live at higher levels of material, mental, and spiritual activity in the Earth and beyond. Unfortunately, we misused this [[consciousness]] and the power that came with the close relationship to the Forces. This misuse brought on the destruction of our great cultures and a long, [[karmic]] [[soul]] journey through the pain and confusion that resulted from our selfishness and self-centered focus on our will without regard for the will of the Creator and others. Now, as the cycles come around again, we are nearing a time when the level of consciousness and relationship with the Creative Forces will allow us once again to regain these powers.}}

Other aliens were said to be arriving at various places throughout [[Europe]], including [[France]], [[Turkey]] and many, many others.  Which all sounds very impressive, but the plot of ''Battlestar Galactica'' is much better.

===Ragnarok===
{{main|Norse mythology}}
Prophecies, such as the prediction of a coming apocalypse, generally have no place in [[Odinism]] — but swap a few vowels around and apparently they can place a central part of Wodenism.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20130913003123/http://wodensfolk.org.uk/prophecy.html "Wodenic Prophecy"]</ref> According to [[Woden's Folk]] — a border-line [[racist]], English [[neopagan]] sect — 2012 would see Ragnarok and the coming of the Hooded Man and Heimdall, with the brave going to [[Valhalla]].<ref>[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/File:Capture_e41038a332a83d9e32a9003970344ed1827e66fc.png Captured for eternity on RationalWiki.]</ref> One 2009 posting on the Woden's Folk spinoff forum [[Youngy#The Heathen Wolves|The Heathen Wolves]] was pretty adamant that the apocalypse would have a very Anglo-Saxon-cum-Norse flavour:<ref>[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/File:Capture_db4c8ea5e00b251868cba09e0bfcde5e352d20f7.png This too.]</ref>

{{quotebox|Ragnarok comes in three years… We prepare for the coming of the Hooded Man and Heimdall, reject the 'hobbyist' Odinist/Asatru groups who want to 'dress up' as Vikings.}}

It looked to be a very ''crowded'' apocalypse.

==What really happened==
[[File:Barack Obama second swearing in ceremony 2013-01-21.jpg|thumb|right|300px|President Obama's second inauguration, one month after the end of all things.]]
The Olympics were held in [[London]], and the worst thing that happened were a few empty seats after some sponsors didn't bother using their tickets. There was an [[2012 U.S. Presidential Election|election]] in November, again uneventful. Economic basket-case [[Greece]] [[Eurozone crisis|didn't blow up]]. "Snooki" — whatever one of those is — apparently reproduced.{{efn|It's yet to be seen whether this causes a problem.}} The ''Hobbit'' movie was released, no impending doom there either, and the last ''[[Twilight]]'' film that hopefully will ever be spawned finally came to pass.  All-in-all, 2012 was a bit shitty, and certainly figuratively the end of the world for some people,<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/19369375 Lance Armstrong 'stripped' of Tour de France titles and banned], ''BBC News'''. 24 August 2012.</ref> but we're still here (albeit with a new dance craze stuck in our heads.{{efn|''Heeeeeeeeey, [[skeptic]] lady'' — actually it was the song "Gangnam Style" with the lyric "Ey, sexy lady".}}) The [[Global warming|transformation of the current world into hell]] is still ongoing, albeit slowly. The Earth will definitely and definitively end sometime within the next {{wpl|Red giant#The Sun as a red giant|7.5 billion years}}.

A major side-effect of the doomsday predictions had little to do with what external forces could actually destroy the planet, and [[Mass hysteria|everything to do with the very human and naturalistic reaction to such panic]]. Some scientists, most notably NASA's David Morrison, predicted that the 2012 apocalypse predictions may lead some people to get so worked up that they may contemplate killing themselves — and so the suicide rate will increase as a [[self-fulfilling prophecy]].<ref>[http://archive.ph/RaQlx NASA Scientist Says Many Young People Contemplating Suicide Over 2012 Doomsday Rumors] by Neetzan Zimmerman (12/03/12 5:55pm) ''Gawker'' (archived from 7 Jul 2013 12:49:37 UTC).</ref> This isn't entirely unprecedented, as it was seen with the switching on of the [[Large Hadron Collider]],<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/2796536/Large-Hadron-Collider-fears-prompted-Indian-suicide.html Large Hadron Collider fears 'prompted Indian suicide'], ''The Telegraph''</ref> the [[Harold Camping|May 21<sup>st</sup> rapture prediction]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110722101603/http://ipost.christianpost.com/news/fear-of-may-21-causes-woman-to-kill-her-kids-and-other-stories-10088/ Fear of May 21 Causes Woman to Kill her Kids and Other Stories], ''The Christian Post''</ref> and there was one case of a man killing himself and his entire family allegedly over the fear that Barack Obama would be re-elected.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120930002327/http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/28/virginia-man-kills-family-and-himself-over-fear-obama-would-be-re-elected/ Virginia man kills family and himself over fear Obama would be re-elected], The Raw Story</ref> Primarily, the issue is that [[fear-mongering]] preys on people who are most vulnerable, possibly triggering them to do things that normally they may not—predictions of the world ending on December 21<sup>st</sup>, 2012 were ''more'' widespread and well-publicised than any of these previous events, so the concern about increased suicides was warranted. 

The only positive to take from this is that the death toll could have been much higher.<ref>{{wpl|2012 phenomenon#Public reaction|Public reaction to the 2012 phenomenon}}</ref>

==The future==
Once December 21 passed, the crazies had [[Paranoia|begun to worry]] about The End coming in 2013 instead, shifting from the Mayans to Newton as their trusted source of mystical wisdom.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080918075015/http://www.december212012.com/articles/news/End_of_the_world_in_2013.htm "End of the world in 2013? New book recalculates Newton's endtimes clock"]</ref> Many other 2012 believers, taking a line from the [[Latter-Day Saints]], [[Moved the goalposts|claim]] that the Mayans were actually still correct, and the date was merely "the beginning of the end" rather than the actual end of the world. With 2013 uneventfully having closed, it remains unknown if they will reevaluate their predictions for <strike>2014's Nostradamus predictions</strike> <strike>2015's Blood Moon Tetrad</strike><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150820184934/https://www.intellihub.com/the-mystery-of-september-23-why-does-923-keep-popping-up-all-over-the-place/ The mystery of September 23: Why does 9/23 keep popping up all over the place?] (August 19, 2015) ''Intellihub''.</ref> <strike>6/6/2016</strike> or just throw in the towel and go home. But what remains inevitable, there will be another end-of-the-world [[paranoia]] coming, and that is something everyone should really be prepared for. 

Really.

==See also==
*[[Kolbrin Bible]]
*[[Sky sounds]]
*[[List of predictions of the end of the world]]

==External links==
*[http://cosmophobia.wikidot.com/start Cosmophobia] (formerly 2012hoax.org and Cosmophobia.org), a wiki dedicated to debunking the miscellaneous weird ideas people had about 2012.
*[https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/2012-the-end-of-the-world/ 2012: The End of the World?], an ''Information is Beautiful'' infographic offering some light discussion and rebuttal of some of the more insane ideas.
*[https://www.livescience.com/11053-earth-postponed.html End of the Earth Postponed?], ''LiveScience'' (maybe the calculation is based on a mistake)
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP8XUVj04Kk 3 Myths About the Maya], ''SciShow'' ([[YouTube]])
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131028022520/http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html NASA had to waste their time that could have otherwise been used for general awesomeness, to address your stupidity.] Don't let them have to do it again.
*[https://skepdic.com/maya.html Maya prophecy], in ''[[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]''

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="note"|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:2012 woo]]
[[Category:End of the world]]
[[Category:Media hysteria]]
[[Category:Native American woo]]
[[Category:Numbers]]
[[Category:Pseudoastronomy]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Scams]]

Categories: 2012 woo, End of the world, Media hysteria, Native American woo, Numbers, Pseudoastronomy, Pseudohistory, Pseudoscience, Scams