December 21, 2012 'Doomsday': Six Apocalyptic Prophecies That Never Came to Be

With the impending apocalypse just days away, Latinos Post looks back at a few doomsday prophecies that didn't quite pan out. Over the history of time, humans have based different prophecies on religious texts and unknown natural phenomenon.

The latest apocalyptic prediction is based on misconceptions of the Mayan calendar, which is set to end its thirteenth 349-year cycle, called a b'ak'tun, on December 21, 2012. According to the myths, the end of the cycle will bring about the total destruction of Earth in the form of celestial and terrestrial cataclysmic events. Despite the myths, scientists and governments around world have worked tirelessly to debunk any concerns over the apocalypse. 

Here are six doomsday predictions that never came to be (in no particular order):

Halley's Comet- 1910 was not a good year for the arrival of the brilliant comet, which dazzles Earth every 75 years. According to French astronomer Camille Flammarion, many in 1910 believed that the comet's tail contained gas "that would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet."

Wired reported that the comet came very close to Earth in May 19, 1910, bringing a 24-million-mile-long tail for six hours. 

Nostradamus' "Great King of Terror"- 16th century French prophet Nostradamus is known for having made a number of predictions from world events to his "great king of terror" doomsday prediction. According to Christian Post, his prediction was translated into English in 1955 and read: "The year 1999, seventh month/From the sky will come great king of terror."

Some took the prediction to signify the end of the world from a meteor plummeting into Earth. While some of Nostradamus' predictions have come close to coming true, this one came out flat. 

The Plagues and Fires of 1666- Nothing spells doomsday quite like plagues, fires and the demonic connotations of the number 666. European Christians were on high alert for the apocalypse in 1666, especially after the plague wreaked havoc on the continent in 1599. To make matters worse, a fire began in a London baker in September 2, 1666 and eventually spread throughout the British capital. The fire, which lasted three days, damaged thousands of homes and claimed the lives of just 10 people.

Despite costing many lives the plague and London fires did not bring about the end of the world. 

Pat Robertson's 1982 "Judgement"- Evangelist and TV host of the Christian Broadcast Network show "The 700 Club" made his doomsday prediction during a May 1980 broadcast of his show. "I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world," the former Republican presidential candidate said. Robertson then predicting that an Armageddon would be followed by seven "nightmare years" of suffering, it was reported.

Despite being wrong in the 80s, Roberson warned of large storms and tsunamis in 2006, "worldwide violence" in 2008 and a stock-market crash in 2010. 

Y2K- Who can forget the craziness that enveloped the world as they predicted that the new millennium would lead to technological chaos? According to reports, 2000 would bring about massive computer and software crashes that would send the financial world into chaos and put human civilization on pause.

However, the New Year (and new millennium) came and went with little to no problems reported. 

Harold Camping's "The Rapture"- California preacher Harold Camping became a national media sensation in 2011 when he twice predicted that the "rapture" would begin on May 21, 2011. According to the evangelical preacher, true believers would be "raptured" and anyone left behind would endure months of destruction before a fireball consumed Earth.

However, when May 21 came and went with no rapture or apocalypse, Camping announced that he had made a miscalculation a revised his prophesy to October 21, 2011. HuffPost reported that Camping made previous apocalyptic predictions in 1994. He finally admitted that he has no evidence regarding the apocalypse in March 2012.