Apocalypse Now... Or Never? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eschatology

"Eschatology" is derived from the Greek word meaning "last", and was first used in the English language around 1550. The Oxford English Dictionary describes eschatology as dealing with four main elements - death, judgement, heaven, and hell. It encompasses the end-of-the-world beliefs of many religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism.

Answer: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

BRAAAAAAAAAAIIIIINNNS.... But seriously, I suppose we'd all rather be safe than sorry. On 16 May 2011, the CDC launched a blog post entitled "Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse". Their aim was to increase public awareness regarding emergency preparedness, listing useful several tips on how one might survive the zombie apocalypse, including what to pack (food, water, medication, tools, clothing, etc.); how to plan an escape route; and the identification of emergency contacts.

Answer: The Jupiter Effect

Gribbin and Plagemann published "The Jupiter Effect" in 1974, in which they claimed that the gravitational effects of all the planets aligning would result in several natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis, all across the globe. However, as other (slightly more rational) scientists pointed out, even though an alignment of sorts DID occur, the gravitational effects of other planets on earth would be negligible.

In 1982, the two ridiculed scientists published another book - "The Jupiter Effect Reconsidered", which claimed that the events had actually happened in 1980, and which included the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. Not surprisingly, the book didn't make it to the bestseller list...

Answer: Harold Camping

Harold Camping, born 19 July 1921, was the president of Family Radio from 1958 until 2011, a Christian radio network based in Oakland, California. Camping used numerology to (incorrectly) predict several dates on which the Rapture would occur, namely:
1) 6 September 1994
2) 29 September 1994
3) 2 October 1994
4) 31 March 1995
5) 21 May 2011
6) 21 October 2011

Camping was also known for coming up with some very colourful excuses as to why his predictions did not come true. He passed away from a stroke 15 December 2013.

Answer: Computer systems were predicted to crash due to the date changeover

A wee nipper of 8, I can still remember the great panic in the last few months of 1999: people getting tetchy, super-sales of all technical equipment, stocking up on tinned goods and candles... Good times (although I may have been exaggerating that last bit).

January 1, 2000 was to be the day that all technology upon which we relied, and made us the advanced civilisation that we are, would fail. The reason for this was simple: most (if not all) digital data storage solutions abbreviated years from four digits to two (e.g. 1992 became 92). The fear was that computer systems would not be able to comprehend the changeover from 1999 to 2000 (or, in computer speak, 99 to 00), and that all systems would crash - including airports, electricity, water, and many others besides.

However, computer system application companies came out with operating systems and software that would be compliant with the year 2000, spending lots of money going through all the systems code to weed out any Y2K problems. As a result, 1 January 2000 came and went without too much of a hiccup, and not too much to show for it... bar an excess of tinned food and candles in several households.

Answer: A toxic gas found in the tail of the comet would "snuff out all life on the planet"

Halley's Comet is a short-period comet, which is visble from earth every 75-76 years. 1910 was a particularly special year for Halley's Comet, as it was the first time photographs could be taken, as well as the first occasion on which data regarding the comet's chemical make-up could be collected. Cyanogen, a toxic gas, was discovered to be a component of the tail of Halley's Comet.

This led our good friend, Camille Flammarion to pronounce that, when earth came into contact with this gas, it "would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet." This led to a panicked (and let's face it, gullible) public buying nonsense "anti-comet pills", "anti-comet umbrellas", and gas masks.

However, many other astronomers pointed out that the gas was so diffuse, that the world, and all those in it, would probably be fairly safe. And so the world was saved, once again.

Answer: A hen

A hen in Leeds, England in 1806, seemingly began to lay eggs with words predicting the second coming of Christ. People came from far and wide to pay homage to the hen and her marvellous eggs. However, it was soon discovered to be a hoax, in which the trickster had used corrosive ink to etch the words on to eggs that had already been laid, and then insert them back into the unfortnate hen, and people quickly lost interest. Guess the yolk's on him...

Answer: "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells

Actor and filmmaker Orson Welles created a series of live radio dramas known as 'The Mercury Theatre on Air', and presented classic literary works performed by the Mercury Theatre repertory company to the listeners.

"The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells was adapted for radio, and aired on 30 October 1938 as a Halloween special. It was an hour-long broadcast, much of which was aired as a series of simulated news bulletins. 'The Mercury Theatre on Air' was a sustaining show, meaning that they didn't have any breaks, and thus, many listeners believed that they were listening to actual news bulletins about an actual invasion. The days following proved to be very interesting, as outraged listeners related their sob stories about the "cruel broadcasters" to the press. However, the debacle certainly secured Orson Welles his place in the spotlight.

Answer: The Big Bang theory

Unlike all the other physical cosmology theories listed, which described various scientific ways in which the universe (and thus, world) might end, the Big Bang theory is a model describing how the universe first BEGAN. It is widely accepted by the scientific community, and the ideas of scientists such as Georges Lemaître, Albert Einstein, Alexander Friedmann, and Edwin Hubble, have contributed to the modern interpretation of this theory.

The Big Rip and Big Crunch hypotheses are effectively based on the idea of the universe constantly expanding. The former suggests that eventually the universe will expand so much that it will ultimately be torn apart, whereas the latter suggests that, at some point, universe expansion will stop, reverse, collapse, and ultimately create one giant black hole. The theory of heat death of the universe suggests that, eventually, there will be no free energy left to sustain life, thus bringing about the end of the world.

Answer: The Mayans

Mayan literature talks of a "b'ak'tun" - i.e. a time period, or world age, lasting approximately 5125 years, the latest of which (i.e. the 13 b'ak'tun) would come to an end in December 2012.

However, despite the popular belief that it was the Mayans who predicted the end of the world on 21 December 2012, there is actually little (or no) evidence that they ever suggested the ending of the 13th b'ak'tun equated to the end of the world. Renowned Mayan and Meso-American scholar, David Stuart of the University of Texas, stated: "no Maya text - ancient, colonial or modern - ever predicted the end of time or the end of the world." In fact, only a single Mayan text, known as Tortuguero Monument 6, refers specifically to 21 December 2012 as the end of the 13th b'ak'tun; and even then, no mentioned of the "end of the world" is made.

It would thus seem that the 2012 hysteria was nothing more than a modern "scare tactic", which spawned mass panic, pilgrimages to places such Bugarach on the French side of the Pyrenees (where some believe that spaceships will arrive to carry them off to safer places), end-of-the-world parties, and much other craziness besides.