back to article NASA: THE TRUTH about the END OF THE WORLD on 21 Dec

Five NASA scientists took time out yesterday to assure the public that the world will not end on 21 December. The astroboffins dismissed claims that a rogue planet called Nibiru will smash into Earth in three weeks, killing us all. The planetary smash-up just before Christmas 2012 was allegedly predicted by the Mayans. A wave …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The calendar on my wall ends on Dec 31st. OMG, we are all going to die... Not.

    People need to stop being idiots and deal with 'what is' instead of 'what could be'.

    1. Simon Round
      Joke

      Arrrggghhh! My calender end today, 30th November. OMG!!!!

      Oh. Hang on. there's another page. Yippee.

      1. Velv
        Joke

        Not if you've got an Android device (lol)

        *, yes, yes, they've fixed the missing December - its a JOKE!

      2. Tom 7

        Another page - oh shit shit shit

        its januarys of this year flipped over!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      The calendar on my wall doesn't even start til tomorrow!

      Therefore, the world ends tonight and the 1st ushers in a new era, a new phase of humanity that provides a little piece of chocolate every day, until the world ends on the 24th (which happens to be a double sided door and looks like an epic chocolate).

    3. LarsG
      Mushroom

      If it was going to end..... Would they let us know before hand?

      Think of the consequences of actually knowing the world will end on a particular day three weeks from now.

      What would YOU do if you knew it was certain?

      1. Darryl
        Thumb Up

        That's easy - borrow ridiculously large sums of money and spend it foolishly

        1. ItsNotMe
          Happy

          Re: "That's easy - borrow ridiculously large sums of money and spend it foolishly"

          Works for most governments...hey...why not?

          1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge
            Pint

            Re: "That's easy - borrow ridiculously large sums of money and spend it foolishly"

            > Works for most governments...hey...why not?

            That's because for most governments the world does end every 4 or 5 years...

        2. Michael Thibault

          of course that would be

          because you couldn't possibly spend it wisely.

        3. zb

          For some time now I have challenged the loonies who believe in this rubbish with a very fair offer. Sell me your house now for cash at 50% of its market value and I will allow you to live there rent free until 31st December.

          Suddenly their sincerely held beliefs become a little less secure when they turn down a chance to indulge in a few fantasies with a big wodge of cash.

      2. C 2
        Joke

        RE: If it was going to end

        You know someone wrote an excellent article here:

        http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/December_21,_2012#Top_Methods_of_Destruction

        They've even got a lovely picture of the 'doomsday asteroid'.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      My calendar ends on the 25th!

      Of course, it also contains chocolate.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: My calendar ends on the 25th!

        me too... but for some odd reason the chocolates are half the size of those from previous years. I'm a bit miffed at the rip-off but at least the kids haven't complained too much.

    5. jonathanb Silver badge
      Linux

      Mine ends on 3:14:08 UTC 19th January 2038, so we still have plenty of time

    6. Stoneshop
      Pirate

      People need to stop being idiots

      Do you have a suggestion as how to achieve this?

      (I have one, but it's rather messy)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: People need to stop being idiots

        Any chance we can extend this consensus to the "global warming" "climate change" Anthropological Impending Climatiferous Armageddonization cult?

        (anonymous so they can't all start chasing me with their pitchforks and flaming torches)

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. Stoneshop

          Re: People need to stop being idiots

          I think that, having gotten rid of the idiots, use of scarce and scarce-ish resources such as power, food, petrol and other hydrocarbons will significantly drop, and greenhouse gas emissions and thus anthropowhatever global warming with it. There may be some transient effects from burning the piles of corpses though.

          Oh, and it's just pitchforks being wielded by that crowd. Flaming torches would run counter to their stated objectives.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Dangerous

    "I'm concerned about the young people who write to me and say they are terribly afraid, they say they can't sleep, they can't eat. Some of them have said they are contemplating suicide.

    So while it's a joke to many people and a mystery to others, there is a core of people who are truly concerned."

    Please make public the indentities of these people. They are clearly a danger to the public and to themselves. Lets ensure that thier rantings and beliefs stay in their heads and do not corrupt the rest of society.

    1. phuzz Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Dangerous

      NAh, just let them top themselves, think of it as evolution in action.

      1. Johan Bastiaansen
        Go

        Re: Dangerous

        Yeah, blame Darwin.

    2. TRT

      Re: Dangerous

      Hey, leave them be. After all, for a fair few people the 21st December will be their last day. So, partially right. Just not any more right than picking any other date.

    3. Esskay
      Happy

      "a core of people who are truly concerned"

      I can only hope that NASA is maintaining a database of these people, and that when it comes time to ship people off to mars en masse, these are the first to get blasted off.

      To somewhere else.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Happy

        Re: "a core of people who are truly concerned"

        The 'B' Ark.

    4. Marvin the Martian

      "there is a core of people who are truly concerned"

      They're not core, they're fringe.

    5. sabba
      Gimp

      Re: Dangerous

      Mmmh, am I the only one spotting the flaw in their logic? "we are scared of death, so in order to get around this we have decided to...erm!!...kill ourselves". I do honestly despair about the kind of idiots we are breeding in this world of ours.

    6. King Jack
      Alien

      Re: Dangerous

      Sadly one of those is my brother. First it was the earth will end/be destroyed, now as the time comes closer it's, A new world order will usher forth. I say if its a true prediction then It would not change on a daily basis. I think it's time to change my phone number.

  3. Anonymous John

    It it's not true...

    Why was December omitted from Android Jelly Bean 4.2? Google aren't fools.

    1. dotdavid
      Thumb Up

      Re: It it's not true...

      But why then did they keep January 2013 onwards? I reckon the entire human race gets abducted by aliens on the 1st December for a month-long tour of the solar system, and then returned on New Year's Day with a sore head.

      1. Bakunin
        Alien

        Re: It it's not true...

        As long as it's just my head that's sore.

        Them probing aliens ....

        1. ravenviz Silver badge

          Re: It it's not true...

          @Bakunin Licken

          It was just an acorn that fell on your bonce, everything's going to be *alright*!

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Pint

        @dotdavid

        "But why then did they keep January 2013 onwards?"

        Because it would cost them more programming hours to remove all that and still keep a working calendar ;)

        No; I'm not a doomsday thinker.

  4. NomNomNom

    "It makes no sense, because if it was there we could see it. We'd have been tracking it for a decade or so. And by now, it would be the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. You can dispel this rumour yourself, just go out and look at the sky."

    But what if it's coming from the day side of the Earth?

    1. jai

      you mean it's coming through the middle of the sun?

      1. NomNomNom

        possibly jai. dont be so fucking skeptical. remember naboo is a magical planet

        1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

          But that's because of gangans (gungas? gunguns?) at their core.

          1. Bert 1
            Coat

            Is Psy short for Psychic then?

          2. GregC

            @Destroy All Monsters

            With that post you have put a most distressing image in my head.

            Gungan Style!

        2. jai

          @NomNomNom

          fair point - but then, being magical, it's probably invisible. stealthy like a ninja. so could be coming from any direction

          we're doomed! RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!!!!!

          (actually, don't bother, that's not going to help any other than leaving you out of breath and unable to scream as the seas boil and the skies turn as blood....)

          1. Psyx
            Holmes

            Re: @NomNomNom

            "fair point - but then, being magical, it's probably invisible. stealthy like a ninja. so could be coming from any direction"

            Latest theory is it's that rogue planet that was found a few light-years away and which will travel here via a wormhole. That or it's hiding behind Saturn and is going to fscking leap out at us.

            I'm not making that up by the way. I have a sense of humour that is fed by occasionally running a search to see what these bozos are currently frothing about.

            It's just sad fantasy, built on desire for a sense of superiority. We are 'sheeple' for not believing it, and their egos are fed by being privy to the secret knowledge.

            1. JDX Gold badge

              Re: @NomNomNom

              >>It's just sad fantasy, built on desire for a sense of superiority. We are 'sheeple' for not believing it, and their egos are fed by being privy to the secret knowledge.

              And that's different from Linux/Android zealots how?

              1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
                FAIL

                Re: @NomNomNom

                > And that's different from Linux/Android zealots how?

                0/10 and downvote for trying to start a fanboi shitstorm.

              2. Psyx
                Holmes

                Re: @NomNomNom

                "And that's different from Linux/Android zealots how?"

                Truth be told, it's not very different to any sub-culture segment. All have lexicons and rituals that separate them from 'outsiders' and distinguish membership of the group.

                It's just that this particular group is full of bat-sh1t crazy irrational people with heightened desires for attention and a need to be 'special', probably caused by an isolated life and abandonment issues caused by the fact that everyone has always considered them to be bat-sh1t crazy and irrational...

            2. Michael Dunn
              Facepalm

              Re: @NomNomNom

              "It's just sad fantasy, built on desire for a sense of superiority. We are 'sheeple' for not believing it, and their egos are fed by being privy to the secret knowledge."

              And much good it will do them in three weeks' time, as in "Oh, boy! I'm so superior that I am soon going to be annihilated!"

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: @NomNomNom

            'fair point - but then, being magical, it's probably invisible. stealthy like a ninja. so could be coming from any direction'

            What if the planet's hiding in an invisible shed? We'd never see it - unless someone opened the shed door to pop out to the bathroom.

    2. ~mico
      Holmes

      What if it was painted black? After all, it's the embodiment of evil.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
        Alien

        "What if it was painted black? After all, it's the embodiment of evil."

        No worries. The Diva has the stones.

      2. Johan Bastiaansen
        Devil

        I see a planet

        And I want it painted black.

        1. Androgynous Crackwhore
          Angel

          Re: I see a planet (Johan Bastiaansen)

          An upvote to you good Sir for the most welcome (and timely) Stones nod

      3. Stoneshop
        Boffin

        What if it was painted black?

        Then we would still be able to detect it, as it would be blocking out stuff behind it.

        Now, if it was entirely transparent (and not acting as a lens either), or shielded with that invisibility cloak that boffins now manage to erect around sheds (as long as those are cylindrical, 1cm tall and looked at from a particular angle), or surrounded by a SEP field, then you'd have a serious problem seeing it.

    3. Androgynous Crackwhore
      Boffin

      RE: But what if it's coming from the day side of the Earth?

      It doesn't need to be coming form the "day side".

      I translated the Mayan texts myself. They are actually surprisingly specific on this subject. They clearly state that Irnbru was ejected from the galactic nucleus of Andromeda at a velocity of 0·99573528C

      Those malevolent Mayan munchkins received a tip-off about our impending apocalypse in the form of a radio message sent by (now extinct) inhabitants of a planet towards the edge the Andromeda system. The archaic Andromedonians witnessed the evil ejaculation as it occurred - some 2·5 million years ago. They calculated the terrible trajectory of the ominous orb and its inevitable impact with our paltry planet, and, seeing that our beautiful blue ball was supremely suitable for sustaining sentient species, they were kind enough to send a warning message our way. The message, travelling at ~C, soon overtook the slightly slower moving "planet" and arrived at earth on the morning of 11th May 6022BC. It stated the precise interval between message arrival and impact. Hence the "calendar".

      So, you see, it's all true. And no... We certainly can't see it coming. I don't know how those NASA "boffins" can have missed something so obvious. Perhaps they got their translation from Google.

    4. ravenviz Silver badge
      Flame

      It's coming from *behind the Moon*!

      1. Nol

        Not a Moon - it's a Death Star...

        "That's no moon. It's a space station..."

  5. mickey mouse the fith

    "Some of them have said they are contemplating suicide."

    Maybe they should, it would certainly rid us of some of the ignorant chaff that believe any old crap they see in a youtube video.

    1. Seanmon

      Yep

      Don't mess with Darwin.

    2. fandom

      "Maybe they should, it would certainly rid us of some of the ignorant chaff that believe any old crap "ç

      Yep, we need to make space for the kind of people that think that the make of a smartphone matters.

      1. mickey mouse the fith

        "Yep, we need to make space for the kind of people that think that the make of a smartphone matters."

        Ahhh, But at least a smartphone is a real, tangible, non made up thing though, unlike this invisible planet thats going to vomit out demons/aliens/the welsh or whatever.

        1. TRT

          I think civilisation needs these gullible idiots who will believe anything they are sold. Well, it keeps the money flowing around anyway.

    3. Psyx
      Holmes

      "Maybe they should"

      If they're so sodding sure of themselves, why don't they just wait three weeks!

      Seriously: What kind of moron finds out he has three weeks to live and then decides that's too long?

      1. Johan Bastiaansen
        Joke

        Maybe they should

        I don't know. How many different kinds of morons do you have on offer?

        1. Robert E A Harvey

          Re: Maybe they should

          >How many different kinds of morons do you have on offer?

          I reckon there is roughly one per IP address, all different.

        2. Psyx
          Joke

          Re: Maybe they should

          "How many different kinds of morons do you have on offer?"

          I can get my hands on an entire Lidl-full.

  6. Stephen Blake
    Flame

    not the end

    Even the Mayans used dates after Dec 21st 2012!

    If people are too stupid to realise that we can add digits to a date then they are too stupid to be taken seriously.

    Frankly if people want to find a reason to worry themselves to death, suicide or otherwise, then they should be left too it and not have NASA waste their time wet-nursing them. Good riddance to their stupidity!

    1. jai

      Re: not the end

      i thought the whole point was that the Mayans took digits away from a date, and thereby the 21st Dec 2012 is actually day 0. it's a mathematical exercise to get to day -1, but is such a thing possible in physics?

      1. Grikath

        re: Possible in physics?

        Ever looked at the concept of imaginary numbers? *shudder*

        1. David Pollard

          Re: re: Possible in physics?

          Imaginary numbers? Is this a bit like Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, so if we all believe in tomorrow very, very much then it really will happen?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: re: Possible in physics?

          If you think imaginary numbers by themselves are bad.... you should try using them in set theory... that really does make the mind explode.

        3. C 2
          Coat

          Re: re: Possible in physics?

          Isn't that what government budgets run on?

        4. Johan Bastiaansen
          Joke

          Re: re: Possible in physics?

          I dialed an imaginary phone number once.

          1. Androgynous Crackwhore
            Facepalm

            Re: I dialed an imaginary phone number once. (Johan Bastiaansen)

            BT customer service?

        5. Michael Dunn
          Unhappy

          Re: re: Possible in physics?

          'Ever looked at the concept of imaginary numbers? *shudder*'

          Yes, echo "shudder".

      2. SteveK

        Re: not the end

        No, I think this date is just the end of that counter and just rolls onto the next one, in the same way we did at the first millenium (i.e., going from 999 to 1000), not counting down to 'day 0'.

        Also, (according to wikipedia at any rate), other Mayan inscriptions do refer to dates further in the future, one in the year 4772 for example, so they clearly don't expect the world to end next month. Then again as their dates seem to resemble IP addresses (albeit with more sets of digits), perhaps they were predicting when we'd be ready to move to IPv6?

      3. Michael Dunn

        Re: not the end

        "it's a mathematical exercise to get to day -1, but is such a thing possible in physics?"

        You'd find it a bit hard to get to -1 K, I think!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: not the end

      'Frankly if people want to find a reason to worry themselves to death, suicide or otherwise, then they should be left too it and not have NASA waste their time wet-nursing them. Good riddance to their stupidity!'

      What if they're kids?

      1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        Devil

        Re: Re: not the end

        ".....What if they're kids?" Then take comfort in the thought that in this highly competitive, dog-eat-dog World, your offspring will have a few less competitors to worry about.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Looks like I will have to find a new job after all

    I was banking on the end of the world to solve that particular problem

    :(

  8. Ralph B
    Mushroom

    Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

    I'll bet a $1,000 against each and every doomsayer who says the world will end on 21st December!

    1. Velv
      Go

      Re: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

      I'll wager £1,000,000 against each one.

      The trouble with them being right and winning the bet is they're going to have a hard job finding anyone left to pay up :)

      1. Andy ORourke
        Joke

        Re: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

        I've got a grand on the end of the world, if it does end on the 21st I'm due to collect £25K!!!

  9. Dave Hilling
    Trollface

    If people are so dumb they believe it will end we should offer to fly them all to a "Secure Cave" (With no air ducts) and lock them in to save them. Gene pool greatly improved.

    1. JDX Gold badge

      I'm sure Mr. Hitler thought similarly about the Jews.

  10. Efros
    Pint

    "There's nothing we know of physically that would allow the Sun to switch off for three days and then switch back on."

    He obviously hasn't read Vernor Vinge's "A deepness in the sky". But then that sun turned off 215 out of 250 years.

    1. What of IT?

      or been to Hull.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Coat

        "the Sun to switch off for three days"

        In Ireland, that was the best summer that I can remember.

        1. Stoneshop

          In Ireland, that was the best summer that I can remember.

          Err, shouldn't that be "switch on"?

  11. BorkedAgain
    WTF?

    "It makes no sense, because if it was there we could see it. We'd have been tracking it for a decade or so. And by now, it would be the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. You can dispel this rumour yourself, just go out and look at the sky."

    What, trust the evidence of my own senses over the interpreted writings of some ancient folks who made their astronomical observations with rocks? What kind of crazy do you take me for?

    1. Graham Dawson Silver badge

      Actually they used string.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Locating the plant

      Thanks. Now I have the confidence to locate the planet with my own senses simply by spotting the third brightest object in the sky.

  12. TeeCee Gold badge
    Facepalm

    Let me fix that.

    "... there is a core of people who are truly concerned complete raving nutjobs of the highest calibre."

  13. jai

    ORLY?

    What's the more likely?

    1) The world is going to end and NASA know this to be true, and a public message to advise us all to spend the next 4 weeks kissing our backsides goodbye

    or

    2) The world is going to end and NASA know this to be true, but they issue a public message anyway to tell us all it's not going to happen, thereby avoiding 4 weeks of chaos as mankind descends into hell, rioters taking to the streets, wide spread looting, law and order breaking down, mob rule taking over as no one bothers to go to work and many people dying horribly?

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      FAIL

      Re: ORLY?

      2) Sounds like the standard economic depression.We know it's boring.

    2. HappyCoder

      Re: ORLY?

      Well if the world is going to end, then a few rioters stealing the neighbours TV and people running around like a bunch of headless chickens doesn't really matter. Whats the point of trying to save civilisation when in a few weeks the planet will be nothing more then pile of space junk anyway. I say let em have their fun.

    3. Tom 7

      Re: ORLY?

      2)....as opposed to many people dying horribly anyway?

      1. PhilBuk

        Re: ORLY?

        2) Sounds like Christmas :-)

        Phil.

  14. Swedish Chef
    Pint

    Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

    ...for UFOs to land or something. Girlfriend has suggested that if that place exists, we go there on the 21st to watch the doomsdayers gather. This could be entertaining!

    It's almost beer o'clock here.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Big Brother

      Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

      You could sell bière and saucisses and fromage to good profit.

      Then the government comes and taxes you.

      1. Miek
        Trollface

        Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

        "Then the government comes and taxes you." -- Maybe you could try to claim that whilst your sausage and cheese selling arm of your business is based in France; Your profits are actually accrued in another country and that their tax laws are not applicable to you.

      2. SirDigalot

        Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

        I am sure we will find me couper la gorge dibbler selling his saucisses dans un petit pain there could be stiff competition..

        (yes I cheated like I speak French hah!)

        1. Magister

          Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

          ...ne pas oublier les oignons!

        2. Mooseman

          Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

          et cela coupe ma propre gorge, châtelain!

      3. Michael Dunn
        Facepalm

        Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

        "You could sell bière and saucisses and fromage to good profit.

        Then the government comes and taxes you."

        But happily the next day there won't be any government left to tax you....oh, just a minute!

    2. dotdavid
      Stop

      Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

      "Girlfriend has suggested that if that place exists, we go there on the 21st to watch the doomsdayers gather"

      Leading to the amusing situation of having 12 doomsdayers and 30,000 amused spectators, unfortunately misidentified by the media as doomsdayers.

    3. phuzz Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

      Take a big sign saying

      "If the world is going to end, then you don't need your money/beer/stuff any more, give it to me"

    4. David Pollard

      Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

      Just think yourself lucky that she hasn't heard about the UFO landing ground in Barbados.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @Swedish Chef

      "...for UFOs to land or something. Girlfriend has suggested that if that place exists, we go there on the 21st to watch the doomsdayers gather. This could be entertaining!"

      Your gf is right. However, you can forget about gathering there because the local mayor is apparently not a doomsday thinker either and has already ordered that the village is to be closed during those days; surrounded by a cordon of police to keep all the rif raf out.

      So I doubt it'll be worth the effort to go and look.

      1. Tom 7

        Re: @Swedish Chef

        Well worth a look at the loonies thinking the froggies are keeping the landing zone all to themselves. Feel sorry for the gendarmes mind....

    6. Zmodem

      Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

      aliens would never land until propulsion has been made and can travel around and they would pull up, and have 12 hours of silence

    7. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Flame

      Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

      The local Mayor has been quoted as saying they have had a few more than usual enquiries about places to stay in the local area from people who might be doomsdayers, but he's expecting far more news teams than actual participants.

      It's gonna be 1980's Top Of The Pops all over again with frantic producers herding small groups of "victims" around in front of the cameras to make the crowd seem bigger than it really is.

      1. Adrian 4
        Meh

        Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

        So, on December 22nd, the world is going to be populated almost entirely by broadcasters?

        I think I'm glad I won't survive.

      2. Don Constance

        Re: Apparently there's a 'safe place' somewhere in France...

        "It's gonna be 1980's Top Of The Pops all over again with frantic producers herding small groups of "victims" around in front of the cameras to make the crowd seem bigger than it really is."

        But without Jimmy Saville herding any of them into his dressing room.

  15. This post has been deleted by its author

  16. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Meh

    I have heard this bullshit was put out by Emmerich...

    ...in order to manufacture some interest into yet another of his dreary CGI extravaganza. Guys looked through "predictions" in order to find something to glom onto, then made the movie.

    Not sure whether true.

  17. Campbell
    Black Helicopters

    "4 weeks of chaos as mankind descends into hell, rioters taking to the streets, wide spread looting, law and order breaking down, mob rule taking over as no one bothers to go to work and many people dying horribly?"

    Sounds like it could be the Police are on strike, the Electricity has went off or Chickens are extinct.

    1. Miek
      Coat

      Sounds like London last summer

  18. Jop
    Unhappy

    Damn

    Thought I could get out of the Christmas shopping nightmare this year (and every year after) but no such luck :(

    1. Rob
      Unhappy

      Re: Damn

      Thought I could get out of the Christmas nightmare this year (and every year after) definitely shit out of luck.

      1. andy 45

        Rob/Jop - are you two twins?

        Rob/Jop - are you two twins?

  19. DJ 2
    Pint

    Well I know of something that won't go down well.

    DateTime fileDate = DateTime.Now;

    Assert.IsTrue(fileDate.CompareTo(new DateTime(2012, 12, 21)) <= 0 && fileDate.CompareTo(DateTime.MinValue) > 0);

    I've been using the upper limit of DateTime unit tests as 2012-12-21 for years now. Guess I will have to pick a new doomsday date..

    shortDateTime 2079-06-06

    Although that seems a little far off, how about the time of Roys death?

    Thursday at 3pm ?

    It's beero'clock.

    1. NomNomNom

      Re: Well I know of something that won't go down well.

      if you try to instantiate a DateTime object later than 2012-12-23 you'll get an EarthNotFound exception

  20. This post has been deleted by its author

  21. Matt Bryant Silver badge
    Happy

    Nibiru

    We have a ndecommissioning project kicking off in December, looks like you've just supplied the prefect project name!

  22. Babbit55
    Mushroom

    I thought the world ended in May, no wait October! oh who knows anymore!!!

  23. Velv
    Mushroom

    Dara O'Briain does a lovely parody on the 2012 film:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4LxBcBad8Y

  24. Richard 81
    Trollface

    At least if they're wrong they don't have to worry about going the way of those Italian seismologists.

  25. ukgnome
    Alien

    Of course NASA say that, but we all know the truth. Now where did I put my tin foil hat?

  26. xyz Silver badge
    Devil

    That bloke in the Lynx advert has the right idea....

    Just tell women that it's going to be the end of the world in 3 weeks time and that you're scared...that should ensure you're up to your ass in sympathy sex until just before Xmas.

  27. mickey mouse the fith

    "There's nothing we know of physically that would allow the Sun to switch off for three days and then switch back on."

    Has our schooling system failed so utterly that people actually believe the sun is like a bloody bedside lamp?

    Sometimes i despair for humanity, i really do.....

    And when Jan 1st rolls around and nothing happens, You can bet your last pound that some numpty will `reinterpret` the scriptures or `recalculate` the dates and set another doomsday in a few years time, and the same idiots will start fretting all over again.

    1. Aldous
      FAIL

      Lets see:

      Despite being discredited (and i think de-registered) many people (esp. Americans) believe the dodgy DR that wrote the MMR vaccine=autism was right. After all jenny mccarthy agrees!

      Many people still believe the man in the white house is a muslim

      Most people would trade their passwords for a chocolate bar

      <insert pop/music latest moneyspinner> exists (i don't believe in giving them free publicity which they crave and adding to the posts of "x sucks" seriously posting about how canadian teen singers suck on every thread in every type of website?)

      People think the world will end in 2012 due to an ancient civilisation yet fail to want to believe said civilisations other "sciences" were right

      Cancer patients being told (and beliving) that coffeee enema's will cure them

      The whole "They will never cure X there is too much money to be made" and "doctors are evil they only want your money now buy my herbs" despite the fact that most western nations have some form of socialised healthcare and would do anything to cut the bill down and i doubt most people going in to medical research care about the profits of the execs.

      Need i go on?

      1. andy 45

        re: Need i go on?

        Please spare us.

    2. NomNomNom

      "Has our schooling system failed so utterly that people actually believe the sun is like a bloody bedside lamp?"

      Please drop the superiority complex, we all went to school and none of us are claiming the Sun works like a bedside lamp. We know it's a ball of gas on fire. We are just saying that if a particularly big gust of space wind comes along it might just blow it out for a few days. Remember It was quite windy the other day, but where has that wind gone now? could it have swooped upwards instead of sideways and now be heading towards the Sun carried by gravity as we speak?

      It may be that piece of wind has been circling the Earth ever since the Mayans first saw it. They might be wiser than we think with all their calendars.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Facepalm

        Judging by the downvotes, I think your "space wind" is not the only thing whooshing high over peoples' heads around here.

      2. sisk

        @NomNomNom - You forgot your sarcasm tag.

    3. Stoneshop
      Go

      "There's nothing we know of physically that would allow the Sun to switch off for three days and then switch back on."

      What's stopping someone from pulling the plug on the Sun's printing presses, and hide the power cord for three days? Or even throw a spanner in the works at a point where the expected damage will take three days to repair?

  28. Antony Shepherd
    Boffin

    At times like this I point to the wise words of Brian Cox: http://youtu.be/vw9K0tI9mxc

  29. Tikimon
    Coat

    VOGONS!!!

    I looked and there's no planetoid out there. Instead there's a nasty-looking yellow spaceship parked at the L5 point.. Better grab yer towels, mates!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: VOGONS!!!

      "Better grab yer towels, mates!"

      Err.. Towels? It's not that exciting :-s

  30. Anakin
    Thumb Up

    Only three weeks left

    Much hard work to do.

    If you are alive the 22 you know who to tank.

    :-)

  31. M E H
    Boffin

    Leap years?

    I read somewhere that the Mayans didn't use leap years, only 365 day years, so their 21st Dec 2012 has been and gone.

    Personally I'm not buying my Christmas presents until Christmas eve, just in case.

    1. sisk

      Re: Leap years?

      Heh, I do that every year. (Not 'just in case' mind you. I just generally get my December paycheck sometime between the 20th and the 23rd. Not a good time to be Christmas shopping. You'd think I'd learn.)

    2. jasonjohns

      Re: Leap years?

      Mayan's used a calendar of 360 days. Somewhere around 800BC the calendar changed to 365 days (check all cultures, this happened across the world) and the Mayan's didn't know what to do with the extra 5 days so declared them a public holiday!

  32. Herby

    Sorry, but...

    ...the world has already ended. It did so on November 6th.

    Then again, the Mayan calendar just needs another digit. Kinda like a Y1K problem when we went from three digit years to four digit years. We will get over it, simply because Christmas is a joyful holiday, which is close enough to the winter solstice (the reason for the holiday) for the church's purpose (why let a holiday go to waste!).

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    no, we already knew the world wasn't going to end in 2012, otherwise we'd have to accept that john titor was just an elaborate hoax.

  34. AJ01

    What if this mystery planet is completely black? How would you see it coming, 1 x Ticket to the saftey cave please.

    1. jasonjohns

      Honestly, if a planet the size of Niburu hit the earth a cave wouldn't keep you safe.

      1. Miek
        Coat

        Can I take this paper bag off my head then?

  35. sisk
    Facepalm

    As for Nibiru - the legendary planet which the Mayans believed had a "3,600-year-long orbit of the Sun"...

    The Mayans believed no such thing. Nibiru is a fantasy concocted in the mid 20th century. If you could go back and ask the Mayans about it you'd get nothing but puzzled expressions. Likewise they did not believe the world would end on December 21 2012, or 14.0.0.0.0, or whatever name they assigned to that day. It's simply when their long count calendar starts over.

    That's right. Starts over. Just like ours does every year. All this rubbish about the Mayans thinking the world is going to end is nothing more than modern fiction. Ask any competent archeologist and they'll tell you that the Mayans, were they still around, would be busy planning the biggest quasi-new years party in history.

  36. Peter Johnstone
    Facepalm

    I've lost count..

    ... of how many end of the worlds I've lived through. I supsect this one will be no different.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Pint

      Re: I've lost count..

      Maybe it's time you joined AA

  37. Tom Maddox Silver badge
    Joke

    LIES!

    Like I'd trust NASA. Everyone knows they're behind chemtrails, HAARP, the FEMA concentration camps, George W. Bush's hurricane machine, geoengineering, ESD, autism-causing vaccines, and all manner of other perfidy! There's no question in my mind that if they're denying it, it must be true! Time to bend over and kiss your asses bye-bye, suckers!

  38. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is bad news actually

    Some people have suggested these crazy people should probably die out as part of dawin's survival laws. However...

    If you thought the world was about to end and your time may be up, what would you do? Surely this is a lot of scared and stupid people gonna get laid and possibly not worry about the contraception as the planet smashing will handle that for them. We may end up with more stupid, crazy people as a consequence of 'stress relief'.

  39. ma1010
    Happy

    Actually, we'll all die when that mutant stargoat eats the planet in December. Except for those of us with tickets for the space arks. Looks like I'm on the "B" ark.

  40. Aron
    FAIL

    Nibiru Mayan?

    In Assyriology Nibiru refers to the crossing of constellations and planets across the sky. It has nothing to do with the Mayans halfway across the world and from a different epoch.

  41. Zmodem

    i`d beat the fuck out of the mayan god, if there religious rubbish affected my life of couldn`t care

  42. Robert E A Harvey
    Boffin

    "Boffins tackle Mayan Prophecy"

    Bored, were they? Nothing to do?

    You are NASA - build a bloody spaceship, instead of sitting round the campfire with stoners and hippies! There are blokes in Bristol drawing spaceships, why aren't you?

    SPACESHIP! MARS! ARK! STARSHIP! Come on lads, back to work.

    It's not rock... oh, it probably is. But that's what you are paid for!

  43. Shane 4
    Facepalm

    Slow death not a fast one

    It won't end the way these doomsday movies predict, Way I think the Earth will be is like the frog in a pot of boiling water story.

    Humanity, If things happen suddenly we all jump up and take notice wether it's a natural disaster or terrorist attack you name it, But if it's something gradual say cutting a tree down to clear for farmland,Then another and another and after we have cut them all down it's like ohh shit there is no forest left!

  44. JohnG

    If the Mayans were so clever at predicting important future events....

    ...how the hell did they miss their own demise at the hands of the Conquistadors?

    1. jasonjohns

      Re: If the Mayans were so clever at predicting important future events....

      The Mayans believed that their God would return from across the ocean as he originally came. He was tall, white and had a beard, just like Cortez. They mistakenly thought he was their god returning to them and it was too late by the time they realised he was just a thief come to kill them all and steal their gold.

  45. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
    Mushroom

    21/12/2012

    One wonders if the similarity and pattern of the digits has anything to do with the numbers of people who believe "something" will happen on that date. People seem to put a lot of credence into number patterns.

    $deity knows what it will be like in a 100 years time!

    A 100 more years of dumbing down and a date reading 2112212. (apart from those places where it will be 12212112...oh, that's a pattern too....oh noes!!!!)

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: 21/12/2012

      Bollocks!!!! "a date reading 21122112."

    2. nagrom1981
      Trollface

      Re: 21/12/2012

      Rush suddenly top the album charts?

  46. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Don't forget the calendar change

    The Mayan calendar was due to end on 21/12/2012 of the Julian calendar, which has already passed.

  47. TheOldFellow

    I was relying on that!

    Damn, now I have to visit folk and do all that bonhomie stuff at xmas.

  48. Bleepme

    Dammit

    So I still have to go Christmas shopping? Bummer!

  49. Outcast
    Devil

    Maya

    @ Sisk

    The Mayans ARE still around

    Methinks they'll party hard this year having rickrolled the entire planet !!

  50. jasonjohns

    Please get your facts right.

    1) Niburu was not a part of the Mayan cosmology. It was part of the Sumerian cosmology, who were nowhere near the Mayan's and were based in modern day Iraq.

    2) Niburu is meant to be on an orbit that is eliptical to the plane, i.e. it's at a funny angle to the earth's orbit, unlike the other planets that are more or less on a flat plane in their orbits

    3) The Mayan's worked on a 360 day calendar. The calculation on December 21st 2012 was based on the modern 365 day calendar, which means the date is about 80 years out.

    4) There is apparently a major alignment of planets around 21st December this year where all the other planets are lined up on the opposite side of the sun.

    5) The Mayans prophecy was the end of the 5th Sun, with a sun being a cycle of life on this planet. Many people see this change as being entering an age of enlightenment, the age of Aquarius, where people grow in their spirituality and get closer to the Source of life.

    1. dajames
      IT Angle

      Re: Please get your facts right.

      5) The Mayans prophecy was the end of the 5th Sun, with a sun being a cycle of life on this planet. Many people see this change as being entering an age of enlightenment, the age of Aquarius, where people grow in their spirituality and get closer to the Source of life.

      So, rather than the end of life on Earth we'll be entering a new and better age of peace and prosperity?

      And maybe even Linux on the desktop?

      Is that what you're saying?

      1. Michael Dunn
        Thumb Up

        Re: Please get your facts right.

        So it has already happened - what date did "Hair" open?

    2. Colin Brett
      Coat

      Re: Please get your facts right.

      "5) The Mayans prophecy was the end of the 5th Sun, with a sun being a cycle of life on this planet. Many people see this change as being entering an age of enlightenment, the age of Aquarius, where people grow in their spirituality and get closer to the Source of life."

      The end of the Fifth World and start of the Sixth. Of course, the team at FASA said it would happen on December 24th 2011, when the great dragon Ryumyo was seen over Mount Fuji.

      Mine's the one with the Shadowrun RPG in the pocket.

      Colin

  51. koolholio
    Mushroom

    Solar Flares arent detectable a decade in advance!

    Solar flares are reported roughly 7 days before it reaches affecting the earth's atmosphere... Whilst yes, NASA's SOHO and SDHO does a wonderful job predicting the big ball of plasmic fire...

    The weatherman can still predict things wrongly or discount the wrong statistics. However as NASA have stated its severely unlikely that the sun will swell to a supernova, morph into some mystical black hole etc.

    Nor is it likely to splash out huge solar flares affecting humanity any time soon upon its REGULAR 10 year cycles...

    Might want to clarify the Mayan Long Count Calendar was only made up to that date, because the mayans didnt scope for all of eternity something drastic must happen at the end of their calendar scope? (A bonkers theory)

    Sleep well, sweet dreams and have a merry xmas all!

  52. Charles 9
    Alien

    Just for giggles, I took a look at some of the wild hypotheses (let's call them correctly; none have been experimentally corroborated) concerning the "doom comet" or Nibru or whatever you want to call it.

    One claims you can never see it because its orbit always places it behind the Sun relative to us. Now, first off, we've already flung many space probes past the sun and well out of our orbital position. And second, such and orbit would have to be spiral in nature given its supposed 3600-year period. No scientist has ever seen, let along calculated, a spiral orbit.

    Another claim is that the planet is made of dark matter or is otherwise black. IIRC, the current theory on dark matter isn't that it's made of some novel substance but rather it's normally so diffuse that you normally can't measure it until it's dense enough to distort gravity. Second, dark objects can still occlude, meaning they'd just block out parts of the night sky: a phenomenon easily visible from terrestrial telescopes. And at this point in the game it would be large enough (relatively) that it'd be nigh-on impossible for it to pass through the sky and not be detected by its occlusion: a clear night sky has a lot of starts in the sky to pick out.

    Want to continue the conversation? What other odd hypothesis about the comet of doom can you describe?

    1. Joerg
      Stop

      Actually theories on dark matter go beyond that and many are telling that it's practically phase-shifted.. so normal matter can pass thru dark matter like it was void but it's not.

      What looks black and void out there could be a giant dark matter planet or star.

      1. Colin Brett
        Joke

        "What looks black and void out there could be a giant dark matter planet or star."

        The problem with space, your basic space colour, is, it's black. So how are you supposed to see it?

        Holly

    2. JDX Gold badge

      It could be a black hole.

      1. Vic

        > It could be a black hole.

        Well, it's definitely no moon...

        Vic.

  53. Joerg
    FAIL

    No you can't see a damn thing if it's camouflaged

    Aliens able to build planet-size spaceships, do terraforming, create stars and planets surely have the technology to hide themselves.

    Cloaking technology is used 24/7 all around us. Otherwise people on Earth would see more than a Moon in orbit every single day.

  54. Just a geek
    WTF?

    It's scary how uneducated and easily lead some youth appear to be in this day. We've had so many 'end of the world' predictions that it would be comical if people weren't actually taken in.

    those peddling such schemes should be arrested or something. they are evil, manipulative so and so's preying on the weak minded in much the same way as any other confidence trickster.

  55. Zot
    FAIL

    No Mayan mentioned it.

    Find me the texts that say the world is ending. The Mayans never mention it, which goes to show how gullible people seem to like the 'end is nigh' scenarios.

    So it turns out to be a world wide rumour.... stupid humans.

  56. Mad Chaz
    Alien

    WHAT!!!!!

    You mean the stars and the moon aren't just images printed on the giant glass dome around the earth??? I'm all confused now ...

  57. Kurt 5
    Pint

    Important for project completion

    I have the end of the world on the 21st factored prominently in my project schedule. Using this I'm actually going to be able to achieve the milestones. Without the world ending on the 21st I'm in big trouble.

    Beer since that I'll be needing a lot of it.

  58. Charles Manning

    Bloody spoilsports!

    It is so much fun antagonizing the stupid people. Why does NASA have to go spoil all the fun?

    But then again NASA's claims are bigger than their capability. Asteroid 2011 MD was only spotted when it was 4 days out. We'll have to wait until 18th Dec to be sure...

    http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/bus-sized-asteroid-barely-misses-hitting-earth/story?id=13940409

    1. Charles 9

      Re: Bloody spoilsports!

      NASA probably wasn't very concerned with this one, given that something the size of a bus, while it would definitely inconvenience the immediate area on impact, would not be a world-killer. Most estimates are you need something a few miles across (the one believed to take out the dinosaurs and landed off the Yucatan peninsula is estimated at 6 miles across) or one that scores a direct hit on a supervolcano's caldera.

  59. Anonymous Coward
    Mushroom

    Supposedly there is a lot of strange behavior going on in Russia around this Mayan stuff...

    I saw a news article this morning (sadly, I can't remember where on the internet I saw it) saying that there has been a bit of mass wierdness going on in Russia over this. The Russian minister of emergency response felt obliged to come out and say that the ministry was capable of monitoring these things and that in fact the world was not coming to an end, and the Russian orthodox church felt obliged to come out and say the same thing.

    Supposedly an Incan arch (made of ice) is being built in Chelybiansk.

  60. Spaceman9
    Alien

    Interstellar bypass - Nestruction notice

    Vogon constructor fleet will be arriving at earth on 21st Dec 2012, i hope this doesn't cause any inconvenience.

  61. Stuart Halliday
    FAIL

    Just tell these idiots that archaeologists found more of their calendar so the World won't end in December.

    Oh what do you mean, they actually did? So why don't these idiots recalculate the end of the World?

  62. Arachnoid

    Is this the planet with the spaceship following that evacuates all the religious nutte........er people I always get my theory's mixed up?

    Oh and do I need to set my alarm clock as I dont like getting out of bed to early even if it is the end of the Earth as we know it.

  63. pepper
    Mushroom

    Coming to fruitation

    Muwhahaha! The suspect nothing!

    My ball of dark matter is arriving soon!

    http://qntm.org/destroy

    1. Zmodem

      Re: Coming to fruitation

      shame its no match for those mighty chairs

  64. Bill B

    Nibaru??

    The end of the world is going to be caused by a world called 'Nibaru'? 'NIBARU'????

    I don't mind be wiped out by a planet called 'Megadeath' or 'Shiva', but 'Nibaru'? That's a bit of a let down.

  65. lizbit
    FAIL

    Why did NASA have to answer

    we should have just let them kill themselves, the population could do with a good culling

  66. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    "Some of them have said they are contemplating suicide."

    They're so depressed about the thought of dying that they are... er... going to kill themselves.

  67. D@v3
    Coat

    you lot are all as crazy as each other.

    I looked up in the sky the other night, and the second (it being at night) brightest thing I could see (after the moon, being the first) was a planet.

    So there!

    (it was Jupiter, panic over)

  68. Dave Hilling
    FAIL

    People dont even notice the troll face anymore...I is depressed.

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