Dec. 21: End of the World? Scholars, NASA Respond

Find out what the experts are saying about the Dec. 21, 2012, Doomsday prophesies, the end of the Mayan calendar and their potential impact.

Don’t make any rash decisions: Experts say 12/21/12 is going to be just another typical winter solstice. But just in case, be sure to get your free coffee at Rio Coffee Brewery, all day long. Killer solar flares aren’t expected. Another planet isn’t on a collision course with ours. And the Mayan “long count calendar” ending on this date has no real significance—they had to end it somewhere! There are a number of theories and predictions that call for earth’s demise on Dec. 21, 2012. They include: The intrigue created by multiple end-of-the-world predictions has made many scholars and even NASA stand up to make statements debunking the claims. From professors at Tampa Bay’s own New College to the scientific minds at NASA, they’re all saying…

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Editor's Notebook

It's the End of the World as We Know It ... Let's Party!

If it really is Doomsday, go out with a smile!

According to evangelist Harold Camping, 89, the end of the world happens  at 6 p.m. on May 21, 2011. There have been billboards put up, and a website,  WeCanKnow.com, is devoted to Saturday's Doomsday. Believing Saturday is the end of the world requires Christians overlooking that the Bible says only God knows when the world will end, and the fact that Camping has gotten his calculations wrong before. Let's overlook. If the world's ending, maybe we should throw it a farewell party! Talk party essentials. What would you want on hand for an end of the world party? Even if it is Doomsday, we should still be good hosts. Here are some ideas:

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The Express Lane

Avon Lake Patch Celebrates Five-Month Birthday as World Ends

It's all doom and gloom as we live through another doomsday prediction.

May 21: Happy five-month birthday Avon Lake Patch! Goodbye cruel world! Have you heard? Doomsday is May 21 which coincides with Avon Lake Patch's 5-month birthday. I swear to the end of the earth we have nothing to do with the bad end of that deal. Yeah, I know, you're not believing the doomsday talk either. Still, I’m posting this column before May 21, just in case. This isn’t the first time the world was about to end. I checked around the Internet (the same Internet that is spreading the word about the end of the world this Saturday), and found dozens of sites that listed hundreds of doomsday dates going back thousands of years. None of them proved accurate, as proven by this week’s propagation of doomsday stories.   Still, the signs are…

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