United States officials are the latest to address the ever-growing fear surrounding claims that the end of the world will occur on December 21, 2012, Politico reported. The government follows Russian and French attempts to dispel the doomsday rumors over the past few weeks.
According to the U.S. government's official blog on USA.gov, "The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012."
The post added, "False rumors about the end of the world in 2012 have been commonplace on the Internet for some time. Many of these rumors involve the Mayan calendar ending in 2012 (it won't), a comet causing catastrophic effects (definitely not), a hidden planet sneaking up and colliding with us (no and no), and many others."
Doomsday rumors are based on misconceptions over the end of the Mayan calendar. Apocalyptic conspiracies assert that the Mayans predicted astronomical disasters would destroy the Earth at the end of its thirteenth 349-year cycle on December 21.
NASA has repeatedly dispelled the rumors as false, as has Pope Benedict XVI. The government's blog post added that NASA has received thousands of letters of concern regarding the predicted apocalypse. David Morrison, a planetary astronomer and senior scientist at NASA, said, "At least a once a week I get a message from a young person-as young as 11-who says they are ill and/or contemplating suicide because of the coming doomsday."
However, hysteria and concern over the predicted end of the world is not only gripping Americans but also people around the world. In Russia, government officials were forced to address the rumors after mass hysteria seemed to grip parts of the nation. In France, authorities have had to monitor a sacred mountain in the southwest that is said to open up on Dec. 21 to reveal an alien spaceship that will save nearby humans.
The December 21 doomsday rumors are just the latest in a long history of apocalypse predictions.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
