Dec. 21, 2012—the day the world is supposed to end. Can this be true? Doubtful. Doomsday predictions are a dime a dozen and have long existed in human history. They’ve existed as early as 2800 B.C. and can be as relevant as the Y2K fiasco.

During the winter solstice in 2012 (Dec. 21), the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years. The Long Count Calendar of the Ancient Mayans also ends on this date. Although there is no scientific proof of what will actually occur, many fear the worst. Predictions range from an asteroid or meteor strike, a total climate shift, or even a religious judgment day.

As we draw closer to this date, the more History Channel doomsday documentaries we will see, the more fanatics we will see, and the more unproven hypotheses we will see. That is precisely the problem; it is all speculation.

According to the Romans, the world should have ended somewhere around 389 B.C. Martin Luther said the world would end no later than the year 1600. One of the first of many end-of-the-world predictions by the Jehovah’s Witnesses was 1874.

Spring 1997 was the year the comet Hale-Bopp gave rise to a fear of doomsday, all based on a mistaken observation by amateur astronomer Chuck Shramek. The so-called “millennium bug” should have resulted in a massive computer malfunction on 1/1/2000, but it didn’t. Obviously, none of these came true or you would not be reading this editorial. Dec. 21, 2012, will be an eerie day for all of us and could be another Y2K magnified in hysteria and panic. However, don’t count on it being any different than the hundreds of doomsday predictions before it. Dec. 21, 2012, is the new hype for fanatic theorists.

So when 12-21-2012 rolls around, stay in school, don’t quit your job, and most of all don’t blow all of your money. Dec. 21 will be the same in 2012 as it was in 2008--and will be the same as it will be in 2013.