The Doomsday Clock is counting down, and it's not the one that is monitored by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, but instead the one that counts down to the "end" of the Mayan calendar, on December 21, 2012. As a result, and since we just started 2012, the Internet is awash with websites supporting the "end of the world scenario," statements debunking it, and websites monetizing it.
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The doomsday scenario comes about because the Mayan calendar "ends" on December 21, 2012. Since the Mayan calendar rolls over to zero on that date, the date has been characterized as the End of the World 2012, and has even been turned into a big-budget thriller.
Among the proponents of the December 21, 2012 doomsday is the site December212012.com. It says, "This site is dedicated to bring our visitors everything associated with December 21 2012 and the world events leading up to it. We will provide you with website links, articles, open discussion forums, and anything else we can uncover relating to this moment in time."
The site also has a Facebook adjunct, which says "The world as we know it is in for some dramatic and devastating changes. Explore the possibilities, see what other believe."
Interestingly, the December2012.com site is certainly not non-profit. It is selling end-of-the world memorabilia, at CafePress.com. Some of it is vague in terms of what exactly will be the cause of the end of the world, but considering the date, it's definitely Mayan calendar-related. There is a set of products devoted to the Rapture, though, so it seems there were ready in case Harold Camping was right in terms of a 2011 Rapture.
Speaking of which, CafePress.com is one of the big Internet sites "invested" in the December 21, 2012 date. After all, CafePress is home to many, many "cottage stores" built up with custom products designed by end users, and a search for "December 21, 2012" brings up tons of products.
Zazzle is a similar custom product store, that allows its users to sell their own "creations," too. Just as CafePress, a search for December 21, 2012 brings up a huge number of products.
You can expect eBay to be full of these types of products throughout the year, at least until December 21, 2012, as well.
Are the fears about the end of the Mayan calendar legitimate? Most experts feel the answer is no. Rather than the "end of the world 2012," that date represents simply the rollover of a new "Long Count" calendar interval.
The Mayan calendar used a cycle of 5,127.37 solar years, and on Dec. 21, 2012, it starts again at zero. Wikipedia says,
"Misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is the basis for a New Age belief that a cataclysm will take place on December 21, 2012. December 21, 2012 is simply the day that the calendar will go to the next b'ak'tun [which is a time segment equivalent to 394.3 solar years]."
Anthony Aveni, professor of astronomy, anthropology and Native American studies at Colgate University, said that the Long Count consists "of 13 cycles corresponding to the levels of Maya heaven that make up a creation period of 5,127.37 seasonal years. At the end of one creation cycle, the count rolls over to the first day of the new cycle."
In other words, it's kind of like Y2K. The "clock is going to roll over." Y2K didn't turn into the disaster that had been predicted. Neither did Harold Camping's Rapture.
We'll see if December 21, 2012 brings just the end of the Mayan calendar, or the end of everything. In the meantime, there are plenty of people who are making some money off of the date.
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