If you're worried that the world is going to end in 2012, relax! Through the ages there have been many predictions about when the world is going to end – and all have proved to be wrong (so far).
The prediction that the end of the world will occur on December 21, 2012, comes from two particular ideas. First, some people claim that a distant planet called Nibiru is on course to collide with Earth in 2012. Second, the calendar of the Mayans, an ancient civilisation, ends on December 21, 2012. To some, this is evidence that the end is near. Of course, the film 2012 also helped to put this ''end of the world'' idea into people's mind.
Jordan Murnane, 10, Jake Drummond, 11, and Benjamin Dear, 10, haven't seen the film but they have heard the rumours. And they have considered what they would do before such an event.
''I would just have heaps of fun,'' says Jordan. ''I'd see all of my relatives and not worry about school work at all.'' Benjamin would also ''hang out with friends and family as often as I could'', while Jake says he would ''do anything I want to''.
The good news is the boys do not have to make such plans yet. Not only is Nibiru not heading towards Earth, there is no planet called Nibiru – it's made up. And the Mayan calendar will just start again, just as our calendar starts again on January 1 each year.
Armageddon is the term that describes the end of the world. And there has never been a shortage of people trying to predict when this will occur. Most of these predictions are based on interpretations of religious writings, though some are based purely on numbers. The most famous recent prediction revolved around the year 2000 because it marked the start of a new millennium (a period of 1000 years). Computers were going to crash, riots would take place, food and water would run out and everyone would starve. Of course, nothing like that occurred.
One prediction of impending doom related specifically to Australia. A spokesman from one religious group, Jehovah's Witnesses, declared that Adelaide would be destroyed by a tsunami on January 20, 1976. Several people sold their homes and moved out of the city, while others sold their businesses. South Australia's then premier, Don Dunstan, declared that such a prediction was nonsense and to prove it he stood on the beach, at the exact time the tsunami was supposed to hit. He did so along with a huge contingent of media, and waited … and waited … and waited. Of course nothing happened – as with all such predictions.
The manner in which the Earth will be destroyed differs from prediction to prediction. It may be a tsunami, a meteorite, a collision with another planet, or even an alien invasion. Jordan, Jake and Benjamin have their own ideas about how the world may eventually end, even if they aren't prepared to name the date.
''I think it will end when the sun runs out,'' suggests Jordan.
Jake agrees: ''And the Earth will then just freeze over.''
''I think it will be in a couple of thousand years when all the resources run out,'' states Benjamin confidently. ''People will die of starvation and dehydration. So the Earth will survive but everything on Earth will die out.''
Jordan may not have seen the movie 2012 but he says that if the world does not end in that year, then in 2013 he is going to watch the movie and laugh.
Until then, don't get too concerned. You can sleep soundly each night in the knowledge that Armageddon predictions have been wrong many times in the past, and will continue to be long into the future – a very long time into the future.
