Preppers prep for ‘End of World’ Friday
Proof the world will not end in 2012.
As the Mayan End of the World approaches, Russians are hoarding matches and torches like they’re forming a D&D raiding party.
“People are buying candles saying the end of the world is coming,” Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said in a Guardian article. “Does no one realize that once the end of the world comes, candles won’t help them?”
The Russians are not alone, of course.
According to a Reuters survey of 16,000 people in 21 countries, at least 10 percent of the population is genuinely concerned that we’ll all be annihilated on Dec. 21, the day one Mayan calendar ends. Other Mayan calendars say nothing unusual will occur in 2012.
“Preppers,” folks who hoard food, ammo and whatever else they think they will need during whatever apocalypse they have conjured, are located all over the world, including the U.S.
Heck, there’s even a TV show about them, Doomsday Preppers, on the National Geographic Channel.
The American Preppers Network stresses a “self-reliant” lifestyle to its members, which, according to the website, means having a year’s supply of food on hand. They even offer samples of freeze-dried food that can presumably survive Ragnarok or even zombies, who tend to eat only non-freeze-dried brains.
NASA scientists, using more modern technology than was available to Mesoamerican cultures, say the world will keep on spinning Dec. 22.
“Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then — just as your calendar begins again on January 1 — another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar,” NASA writes on its sadly necessary “Why The World Won’t End” website.
A lot of people aren’t comforted by science. Instead, they use common sense.
Like the surviving 800,000 or so Mayans in Mexico, who apparently don’t look at ancient calendars.
South of the border, they’re keeping it real.
“We don’t know if the world is going to end,” said modern Mayan Yeh Kinil, 62. ”Remember 2006, and the ‘6-6-6′ (June 6, 2006): A lot of people thought something was going to happen, and nothing happened after all.”
“Why get panicky? If something is going to happen, it’s going to happen.”
Still, I’ll be hoarding wrapping paper and boxes. If the world doesn’t end, Santa has work to do.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
54 comments Add your comment
okay
December 17th, 2012
1:22 pm
Boom!!! Am i still alive?
December 22nd
December 17th, 2012
1:25 pm
I am having a party on Saturday, saying we are still here
ZinoDaeg
December 17th, 2012
1:37 pm
Just as a precaution I am waiting until 12/22 to pay the rent. Booyah!
Bill Clinton
December 17th, 2012
1:45 pm
Mayan chicks are hot!
Denise
December 17th, 2012
1:46 pm
LOL…good comments.
Tim in Louisville
December 17th, 2012
1:46 pm
“Just as a precaution I am waiting until 12/22 to pay the rent.” Gee, I hope you’re not homeless by then. My apartment complex files its evictions after the 10th, with a court date by the 20th. Three days later, the Sheriff’s at your place with a bolt cutter!
Tim in Louisville
December 17th, 2012
1:47 pm
“Mayan chicks are hot!” But they don’t last after the 21st! LOL!!
GT Jackets
December 17th, 2012
1:47 pm
there are going to be a TON of deals out there after Dec 21
GT Jackets
December 17th, 2012
1:49 pm
Here is what you really need to be ready for!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvjiVam2HO4
sifer
December 17th, 2012
1:57 pm
put Friday with the big boom at 2000 we were gonna see or with big foot or with a snipe or with a intelligent blond or a female president i haven’t seen any of these yet ,but don’t fret brad Obama will lead us to the end of man kind and no one will see it coming
gadem
December 17th, 2012
2:04 pm
But if the end of the world comes…what will hoarding do? People are so silly sometimes…
Chode McBlob
December 17th, 2012
2:08 pm
There’s just no shortage of idiots that believe doomsday prophesies. Exept for this doomsday, there is no prophecy, just the end of a calender cycle. I wonder what these idiots will do on Dec 22nd.
ryan
December 17th, 2012
2:13 pm
Nothing will happen didn’t we go threw this last year with that crazy California priest its seems there only small number of people who believe in this stuff is not going to be any big earthquake if Jesus comes then we should worry but nothing will happen .
John Brown
December 17th, 2012
2:23 pm
The end of our era will probably come in Jan 2013, the 40 year probation period for abortion will be over. World is not going to end until the false messiah has sat in Jerusalem for five months and after they have killed the two witnesses.
A collapse of the world economy on Dec 21, 2012, now that I can believe in. I expect it any day.
ryan
December 17th, 2012
2:27 pm
Just be thankful we don’t live in the middle east or Syria now that is living in hell .
Just In Case It Does Happen
December 17th, 2012
2:41 pm
I’m going to the Pink Pony and grabbing some booty–so what if they thrwo me out the world is ending
GarysWife
December 17th, 2012
2:48 pm
Soooooooo, exactly what’s going to happen???? I say we watch Uelen, Russaia Thursday at midnight and see what happens… At least we’d have a 24-hour head start to head to the underground caves in the north GA mountains!
ByteMe
December 17th, 2012
2:54 pm
They have the wrong day. Doomsday is Thursday… the first day the kids are home from school for 17 days of winter break.
Chris
December 17th, 2012
2:57 pm
Tim in Louisville, are you sure you’re not living in a dictatorial regime?
Civilized societies don’t evict people with such senseless speed.
God
December 17th, 2012
3:00 pm
Hey, it’s me. Just checking in. See you all on Friday.
Samantha
December 17th, 2012
3:01 pm
Sooooo…now if the world is going to end on Friday, December 21, 2012…is that E.S.T., or is it Africa time or what? L.O.L. On Saturday, December 22, 2012 there will be a lot of disappointed people! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Plus if the world does end on the 21st how on earth will candles, food, etc help people. This is so sad..only people with warped minds believe this stuff. So crazy and sad… Oh well…see you on the 22nd! 
DawginLex
December 17th, 2012
3:04 pm
Any really rich folks want to bet me 1 million dollars that the world will not end on the 21st?
No man knows when the end times are.
No man
That includes all of us
Let me know who wants to bet. I got medical school to pay for.
Andre
December 17th, 2012
3:05 pm
What exactly is there prepare for? If the world is truly going to end, shouldn’t everything that’s left behind simply take care of itself? Mental instability is a #@$%!
Tap Out
December 17th, 2012
3:06 pm
How will it happen?….Fox is predicting a “landslide”.
GarysWife
December 17th, 2012
3:06 pm
LOL! I’m guessing it’s going to be Mountain or Pacific time… Is Mexico in those time zones??? Will it start there then ripple around back to eastern time??? Hmmm??? What about leap years? Did the Mayan calendar include leap years???
Garyswife is stupid
December 17th, 2012
3:11 pm
The Mayans did not count leap year because it did not exist at that time in history. They also did not say the long count would end on December 21, 2012. The calender runs out on the WINTER SOLSTACE
Garyswife is still stupid
December 17th, 2012
3:14 pm
Which just happens to be on December 21, 2012. How about some of you people pick up a history book and turn off the Jersey Shore marathon.
DawginLex
December 17th, 2012
3:17 pm
Real story:
Mayans ran out of rocks.
Cosmo Kramer
December 17th, 2012
3:19 pm
I just checked with Marcelino, who is 1/64 Mayan, and he said everything should be fine.
I Can See Clearly Now
December 17th, 2012
3:19 pm
The end of the world as we know it was November 6, 2012.
ryan
December 17th, 2012
3:24 pm
As Kevin Bacon said on Animal House All IS WELL nothing to see here .
Bubba
December 17th, 2012
3:30 pm
Enter your comments here
I am comforted by Matt 24: 36-37
jb
December 17th, 2012
3:38 pm
The world is coming to an end soon.
abbysenia
December 17th, 2012
3:52 pm
Like the end of the article says…if something’s going to happen it’s going to happen.
End of the world means END of the world…there is not preparing for that.
If the world ends…it ends and you can’t hide from that or get food for that etc…
Only place that makes sense is in hollywood movies…
TK
December 17th, 2012
4:18 pm
If he has the same landlord as you he’ll have 1 day left according to your calculations
Thrash
December 17th, 2012
4:19 pm
If it’s the end of the world, what are these morons prepping for? Best laid plans….
Newman
December 17th, 2012
4:20 pm
Cosmo Kramer, Marcelino, may be 63/64 wrong!
GarysWife
December 17th, 2012
4:28 pm
And I care about the Mayan calendar because?? So because there’s going to be a little less sun light the Earth is going to explode (or implode)?
Thank God I don’t have to resort to personal attack and/or insult to get my point across….
Cho man
December 17th, 2012
4:50 pm
Who the hell put the Mayans in charge of the world calendar in the first place.
3D
December 17th, 2012
4:52 pm
It’s my understanding that the Mayans didn’t account for leap years and their calender actually expired in November of 2011.
So the world has already ended.
Felix the cat
December 17th, 2012
5:00 pm
I plan on coming and going at the same time…just sayin
Realistic Georgian
December 17th, 2012
5:32 pm
Everyone should have some sort of Emergency Preparation plan in place. While “The end of the World” scenario may be unrealistic and even laughable – we have seen situations where society crumbles, where the rule of law becomes survival of the fittest and where clean water and food suddenly become scarce and violence abundant. It happened during Katrina, the LA riots, and it’s currently taking place in far away places like Syria.
Jon Danzig
December 17th, 2012
5:43 pm
The predicted world’s end on 21 December is irrational scare-mongering nonsense – but the ‘Millennium Bug’ was not. There’s a difference, and it’s important to the human race that we understand what it is. See my latest blog: ‘Mayan Catastrophe versus Millennium Bug’:
http://jondanzig.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/mayan-catastrophe-versus-millennium-bug.html
Short link: goo.gl/nok1y
oh, well....
December 17th, 2012
5:57 pm
Everyone hit Rooms To Go and get everything on the no pay til 2015 plan.
Lauri
December 17th, 2012
5:57 pm
I’m a prepper, but I don’t think the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. I prep because Alaska is a long way from the west coast ports that are our food lifeline and the last big labor strike they had at the Port of Long Beach (about five years ago), the store shelves here got mighy empty. It just makes sense to prepare for a natural disaster or a terrorist event. My goal is a year’s worth of food, but in reality, I’ve got maybe three months on hand.
melvinowens
December 17th, 2012
6:52 pm
why would anybody believe the mayans can predict the end of the world? after all, these people worshipped the snake god and sacrificed their children and virgins to volcanoes to appease their gods. i’ll stick to the bible:”no one knows the end of time but the father in heaven” according to jesus
Mayan Apocalypse: 10 Percent Of The Global Population Thinks The World Will End On Friday
December 17th, 2012
6:52 pm
[...] simply an American phenomenon. People in Russia are reportedly hoarding matches, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Folks in China are snatching up all the candles they can find. As previously reported by The [...]
Fitness gifts picks from Marjie | Ultimate Fitness Blog
December 17th, 2012
8:31 pm
[...] images from the weekendPreppers prep for ‘End of World’ FridayAP Photos: Connecticut school shootingJudge considers sex offenders’ use of social [...]
Kalki Venkateshwara
December 17th, 2012
9:52 pm
Open website http://www.swastik.org for official website “End of world”, “Kalki Jesus”
Exenon
December 18th, 2012
3:39 am
I am now in my 67Th year. The world has ended on numerous occasions since I was old enough to take notice. My favorite was the Seventh Day Adventists, who predicted the end of the world from biblical prophecy. They took to the hills en mass. When they descended in their disappointment, a significant proportion of the church were still convinced it had ended and went about their business as if it hadn’t. Then there was the millennium, but no one ever thought to mention whether it was the Julian or Augustan millennium, or even bother with the millennium of the Abrahamic tradition according to which we have gone through about 7 Milennia without a hitch. Nothing much has been revealed in the Bible, the Upanishads, the Kannon Sutra or even the Koran regarding Mayan theology and their obsessions with seeing who could produce the longest imaginable calender without even noticing it was in the shape of a wheel. As a Scot I am a born sceptic, not given to superstitious rantings about the latter days. And does it not say in the Book of Contradictions that “Death will come as a thief in the night and you will not know the time or the moment” Obviously there are those to whom life is hardly worth living that the doomsday scenario enriches their paltry existence
John
December 18th, 2012
9:08 am
If you are rich and think that world is going to end, I could use your help.
I would like you to pay off all my dept. Please. After all, you can’t take it with you and I would like to
leave, if that is what’s going to happen, with no bills.
Thanks
Morpheena
December 18th, 2012
11:07 am
I am still waiting for the rapture, I can only deal with one apocalyptic event at a time.
PJ
December 20th, 2012
5:36 am
are you scared? I cant wait, I am going to LOL at all the preppers who spend allot of cash on this!!!whahahahahahahahahahahaha LOSER! LOSER!
James Marvell
December 20th, 2012
3:43 pm
Why the world didn’t end Tommorrow – Yes, You read it right and here’s why – “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” ( Matthew 24;36 ) See video of what Jesus said by singer – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtNpFp_GjsY