Merry Doomsday Eve, Everyone!

It’s (almost) the end of days, everyone! The clock’s ticking away to that ominous date, 12-21-12, the day that Mayans said Earth will stand still. Though, considering how hard it is to actually match their 144.000-day calendar to the Earth’s rotation, what with the precession of the globe’s axis vis a vis the ecliptic and other scientific mumbo jumbo, it’s rather unlikely that it’s going to be any prophesied cataclysmic event or cyclical abnormality. If the world ends, I don’t think it’s going to be any solar flares or asteroids coming at us out of nowhere; it might be simply panic and fear, a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, if you will.

Already NASA is debunking several hundred emails a day explaining the intricacies of the solar/lunar/stellar calendars. They even went so far as to publish a press release ahead of schedule, postdating it 22nd December, saying that all’s fine with the world. Well, at least not worse than it already is.

It’s not a new fad (though it will be a definitely passing one come tomorrow). Back in 2009, Ronald Emmerich’s cata-flick „2012” already played on the Mayan calendar fears. And though we now know a lot more about their timekeeping than we used to three years since, it’s still just a bit of a mystery what’s going to happen. Maybe it’s going to be fiery inferno of solar activity? Maybe a local black hole? Maybe it’s going to be little green men? And that’s just taking into account the „sciency” stuff, not the magical, supernatural or religious theories.

Some, though, are already preparing, come what may. Back in China, the Almighty God cultists have been arrested after spreading the nasty rumours about impending flood that would end life as we know it. That’s 500 folks behind bars instead of patiently sitting aboard their own home-built arc. Schools are closing in America for fear of another shooting, while on the other side of the pond the European stock exchanges are going haywire. Are we the architects of our own demise, then?

Let’s hope for the best; personally, I’m going to chill out and relax. What about you – what are your doomsday plans, then? An arc, a shelter, perhaps a good book? It all might end soon – so make every moment count just in case!

Check out top 10 worst-case scenarios that might indeed spell doom for us all!

VOCABULARY

to tick away – odliczać (czas)
ominous – posępny, mroczny
Mayans – Majowie
to consider – zauważyć, wziąć pod uwagę
to match – dopasować
rotation – obrót
precession – precesja (astron.)
axis – oś
sth vis a vis sth – coś względem/w porównaniu do czegoś
ecliptic – (płaszczyzna) ekliptyki
mumbo jumbo – abrakadabra, czarna magia
prophesied – przepowiedziany
cataclysmic event – katastrofalne wydarzenie
cyclical – cykliczny
abnormality – dewiacja, odchylenie
solar flare – rozbłysk słoneczny
out of nowhere – znikąd (nagle)
self-fulfilling prophecy – samospełniające się proroctwo
to debunk sth – obalić (teorię), podważyć
intricacies – zawiłości
solar – słoneczny
lunar – księżycowy
stellar – gwiezdny
press release – komunikat prasowy
ahead of schedule – zawczasu, przed planowanym (wydarzeniem)
to postdate sth – opatrzyć późniejszą datą
fad – (chwilowa) moda
cata-flick – film katastroficzny
timekeeping – mierzenie czasu
cultist – członek kultu
to spread rumours – siać plotki
impeding – nadchodzący, nieuchronny
flood – powódź, potop
folk – ludzie
behind bars – za kratkami
arc – arka (Noego)
stock exchange – giełda
demise – zgon, zguba
doomsday – dzień zagłady
shelter – schron