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Tag: apocalypse

  • Viking Apocalypse Scheduled For Saturday

    You were lucky enough to survive the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse but will you make it through the 2014 Viking Apocalypse? You only have a few days to prepare for it, as it is set to arrive on Saturday, February 22, 2014. Unlike the Mayan Apocalypse, which believers had warned about for years, the Viking Apocalypse comes with less warning.

    According to Norse mythology, a war between the Norse gods will begin on Saturday. If you are familiar with the movie Thor, you may find it interesting to know that Thor, Odin and Loki are a few of the gods who will be involved in the battle. All of these gods will fight with all their might and their battle will have a huge impact on earth.

    The Viking legends says that the battle will cause the earth to split open and allow all of the spirits of the underworld to break free. These spirits will then takeover what is left of earth. The human population will have already been destroyed by the time the spirits make it to earth, as the actual apocalypse will take place when the earth is cracked.

    While most people will laugh this myth off, Viking fans are excited about it and many are celebrating the Viking Apocalypse at the Jorvik Viking Festival. The festival honors the mythology and beliefs of the Vikings and includes a parade and a mock battle of the gods that if legends are correct, will not even come close to what the Norse gods are capable of.

    Over the last few years, there have been numerous apocalypse dates and end of the world warnings, but obviously, none of them have turned out to be true. Although the Vikings were very knowledgeable about the world, it is very unlikely that the apocalypse will take place on Saturday and even more unlikely that the end of the world will come as the result of a battle between Norse gods.

    Do you think the Viking Apocalypse will really happen?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • X-Men: Apocalypse Is Coming In 2016

    With all of the excitement and anticipation surrounding the next X-Men sequel, the film’s director has already come out and announced the release of the next film. X-Men: Apocalypse will be third film in the reboot of the X-Men franchise from director Bryan Singer.

    X-Men: Apocalypse is set for a release date of May 27, 2016. The announcement is a big deal for fans, and of course seems like a long time from now for most people. There have not been too many details regarding the film that have been released yet in addition to the release date, and its title.

    Bryan Singer has been active with his Twitter account in the past year updating fans on the new film, X-Men: Days Of Future Past, but his tweet yesterday certainly threw fans for a surprise.

    While the average superhero film watcher would not catch on to any potential plot points, Entertainment Weekly mentions that the big nerds who are familiar with the comics would have recognized that Apocalypse is one of the X-Men’s greatest enemies. Apocalypse was born thousands of years ago and in his years on Earth, he transformed himself into a superpowered cyborg using alien technology. He wants to conquer the world, and in one plot arc, he does, ruling for a couple thousand years.

    X-Men: Days Of Future Past is the next film in the franchise, and is set to be released on May 23, 2014. The trailer for the new film debuted about a month ago, and introduced fans to a whole new set of characters.

    The first film in the reboot of the superhero franchise was X-Men: First Class, and was released in 2011. The film starred all of the hot young stars right now including Jenifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and several others.

    While no cast or characters have been made available for X-Men: Apocalypse and what generation of the X-Men it will pull from, X-Men: Days Of Future Past will have a Back To The Future type of plot, and show the characters of the original trilogy meeting their younger selves in the past.

    Image via Facebook

  • If ‘Walking Dead’ Were Real, Could Zombies Really Walk?

    So AMC has renewed zombie-smashing hit series The Walking Dead for a fifth season, but after five years of shambling around trying to munch the brains of Rick Grimes & co., would there be enough of the zombies left for them to continue walking?

    A forensic consultant with Rutgers University-Camden, Kimberlee Sue Moran, thinks the dead would be more threatening to the water table than your brain cavity. “At the root of decomposition is liquefaction,” she said, noting that when the body dies, it immediately begins eating itself from the inside in a process called autolysis.

    “Within three days, you would see signs of decomposition, so the body would not be stable enough to run around,” Moran notes. “Rigor mortis is like a body-wide cramp, which would make it hard for the zombie to move… You hear about friendly bacteria and probiotics all the time, and they are friendly until the body dies, then they get a bit hungry.”

    The living bacteria from our dead guts continues living after our bodies cease to function, and as a result, the body bloats as the bacteria leaves waste in the form of gas. Those byproducts, and the bacteria themselves, are responsible for pale zombie skin tint.

    But what if the brain were reanimated, and those necessary body functions were not stopped, but slowed? “You need the frontal lobe to see and certain parts of the brain to make your arms and legs move, but none of that is possible without oxygen and blood,” Moran says. “The brain is made of cells, so if all the other cells are liquifying, so would the brain.”

    “In the movie Resident Evil,” Moran continued, “they said it was a very primitive part of the brain that drives basic instincts like hunger. But sleep and reproduction are also basic instincts and that’s not taking place in any of these stories. Taking in nutrients is not going to serve any purpose for the zombie.”

    So what drove Moran’s interests into exploring the plausibility of the zombie? The Danny Boyle bio-thriller 28 Days Later. “28 Days Later caused my irrational fear of zombies because they were biological agent-driven zombies… Part of fear is trying to rationalize what is happening and find ways around it.”

    [Image via Gene Page/AMCTV.com]

  • Hawking: Earth Doomed, Humans Must Explore Space

    Stephen Hawking made a career out of investigating and explaining the cosmos to the layman. Now the renowned physicist is telling us that we need to get off the planet and (relatively) fast.

    The AP reports that Hawking was recently touring the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where research on steam cells is being conducted. At the event, the physicist said that humans won’t survie another 1,000 years on Earth unless we escape “beyond our fragile planet.”

    Noted scientists have taken the same stance, though not as extreme, over the years arguing that humanity as a species should explore the cosmos not only to preserve the species, but for economic purposes as well.

    Here’s Bill Nye arguing that we should be exploring space for economic benefit:

    Here’s Michio Kaku talking about the chances of mankind destroying itself in the next 1,000 years:

  • Rihanna Smacks Cera in Latest ‘This is the End’ Trailer

    Summer is coming, and so are the comedies.

    One of this year’s most anticipated comedies is This is the End, a movie in which celebrities play caricatures of themselves during the apoclypse. The movie is partially written by Seth Rogen, who also wrote the hit comedy Superbad. This is the End will be Rogen’s directorial debut.

    In addition to Rogen, the cast includes pretty much everyone you would expect Rogen to hang out with in Hollywood. James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride seem to round out the main cast, while a large number of cameos are sure to fill the movie.

    Sony this week released a red band trailer for the movie, giving moviegoers a glimpse of the apocalyptic mayhem at the beginning of the flick. The trailer also spoils a few of the early cameos, such as when Michael Cera slaps Rihanna on the ass and gets smacked in retaliation, or when a certain British actress shows up to rob the survivors. Also, a few celebrity deaths are spoiled, but some of the bigger cameos are sure to remain under wraps for the premiere.

  • End of the World Prank Warns of Impending Tsunami

    A tsunami just hit New York. Yeah, New York! We gotta get outta here!

    If someone had (rather convincingly) told you that in a shocked and terrified voice yesterday afternoon, what would have been your reaction? Would you have believed them, knowing that the end times were probably nigh? Would you have checked Facebook, just to see if anyone else was talking about a tsunami? Would you have punched them in the face?

    I’m not sure I can condone this prank, as it’s pretty mean – some people look genuinely scared. But we can all watch this and be glad that this scenario didn’t actually come to pass. The end of the world would have been so stressful.

    We’re all still here! Frickin’ Mayans…

    [VitalyzdTv via reddit]

  • Mayan Calendar Doomsday Prophecies a Hoax, Says NASA

    Predictions about the end of the world on Friday, December 21 are reaching a fever pitch. From rogue planets to shifting poles, the crazy ideas put forth for how humanity will soon perish resemble countless past doomsday prophecies that haven’t come true.

    It seems that NASA has decided it is its responsibility to debunk all of the Maya Calendar rumors. Already, NASA scientists have participated in an hour-long discussion of how end-of-the-world predictions are not based on reality. In fact, NASA is so confident the world will not end that it has already prepared and released a video for December 22 that explains to bewildered believers exactly why the world will have kept turning.

    NASA is keeping at it, trying to save people from selling their belongings and waiting for an apocalypse that won’t come. A new video has been released by the agency, again speaking out against the doomsday rumors. In it, David Morrison, a senior scientist and astrobiologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, goes through each of the most popular doomsday scenarios, tossing them aside like trash.

  • NASA Releases Preemptive “Why the World Didn’t End” Video

    There are only nine days left until December 21, 2012 – the end of the world if conspiracy theorists are to be believed. That’s the day the Maya calendar supposedly ends and ushers in the apocalypse.

    Of course, there isn’t any actual evidence that the world will end next week. In a Google Hangout earlier this month, scientists with NASA pointed out this lack of evidence and dismissed the claim as another in an endless progression of doomsday prophecies as old as humanity.

    But NASA didn’t stop at debunking the December 21 predictions. The agency has just preemptively released a video detailing why the world didn’t end on that day. The video is dated and presented as if someone will be watching it on December 22, with a narrator that calmly explains why the world will have not ended next week. It’s a sign of scientists’ incredible confidence that the world will not end.

    The video doesn’t gloat or condescend. Instead, it calmly lays out the facts that the Maya calendar never predicted the end of the world, that no asteroids or rogue planets are on their way toward Earth, and that the Sun is not a current danger to our planet.

  • U.S. Government Says the World Won’t End Dec 21, Which Means the World Is Definitely Ending Dec 21

    The world didn’t end on May 21st. The world once again failed to stop existing on October 21st. The world is also not going to end on December 21st.

    But don’t bother telling that to your weird cousin in his doomsday shelter, he won’t believe you anyway.

    Especially after you tell him that the latest reassurance is coming from the mouth of the gasp U.S. Government!?

    Yes, the government of the United States or at least someone with access to their USA.gov web portal has dedicated an entire blog post to making sure you know that we’re all going to be here to drink a little too much on Christmas Eve.

    “False rumors about the end of the world in 2012 have been commonplace on the Internet for some time. Many of these rumors involve the Mayan calendar ending in 2012 (it won’t), a comet causing catastrophic effects (definitely not), a hidden planet sneaking up and colliding with us (no and no), and many others,” they say.

    “The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012.”

    IN 2012? What do you know, USAgov?

    The U.S. government is relying on NASA’s previous debunking for their proof that the world will keep turning in a little over two weeks time. NASA says that “the world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.”

    If you want to watch a bunch of NASA scientists tear apart each bogus doomsday prophecy one by one, check out this recent Google Hangout:

  • NASA Debunks Doomsday, Apocalypse Prophecies

    As December 21, 2012 grows near, the hysteria concerning the end of the Maya calendar is coming to a head. Gullible people all over the world are stocking up on non-perishable items and preparing for an apocalyptic disaster. For scientists, though, these latest doomsday prophecies are the same thing as any prophecy – a claim without enough evidence to even be worthy of the label ‘hypothesis.’

    Not everyone knows bunk when they hear it, though, so NASA recently devoted the precious time of some of its scientists to debunking the spurious claims. NASA researchers from all over the U.S. gathered in a Google Hangout to discuss prophecy, the winter solstice, and the track record of doomsday prophecies (spoiler alert: they’ve all been wrong).

    Among the participants are Astrobiologist David Morrison, Asteroid Scientist Don Yeomans, Archaeoastronomer Mitzi Adams, Heliophysicist Lika Guhathakurta, and Astrophysicist Paul Hertz. The scientists methodically pick apart every silly prophecy and rumor about what disasters will happen on December 21. In particular, the group tears into the myth of the fictional planet Nibiru, which is rumored to be on a collision course with Earth.

    (Image courtesy MBisanz via Wikimedia Commons)

  • How You Can Survive A Robopocalypse [Video]

    (image)

    Zombies? Fake. Vampires? Not real either. There is one science fiction scenario that could take place one day: killer robots like Cylons or Skynet. Humans for years have been tinkering with the idea of true artificial intelligence, but if you had a robot who was self aware, would he see humanity as a threat? Nearly every single science fiction novel/movie of all time says yes.

    The boys over at Epiohio have brought in Dr. Daniel H. Wilson who is a robot expert to help answer some questions about the impending robopocalypse. He goes over topics such as how to avoid getting killed and how to deal with large walking robots.

    So if you aim for a robots sensors or have an off switch failsafe you can press you will be good. But that only really applies to a man made robot that becomes self aware. What is the robot in question was built as a sentient being by another robot?

    There you have it, all you need to have to beat the robopocalypse is guns, mobility, and enough smarts to get out of the way!

  • Finally, An Easy to Use Zombie Survival Guide

    Finally, An Easy to Use Zombie Survival Guide

    Everyone knows about the Zombie Survival Guide, the how to manual by zombie expert Max Brooks. The man has released three books on the topic of zombie survival and history.

    But you may say “I am way too lazy to read books. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have all that information in one easy to access spot. I won’t have time to read when the zombies attack, anyway.”

    Problem solved. I present to you a guide to zombie survival so accessible, a brain dead gnat would still have the attention span to follow along. This should be posted in every workplace along with minimum wage and child labor laws.

    This guide seems to really hammer in the fact that portable solar power would be a good tool to have during the zombie end of days. Could be because GoalZero sells portable solar power generators, could be pure coincidence.

    Even if it is a shameless plug, I really can’t argue. With a crumbling infrastructure, most power plants would be non-operational in a few short weeks. A personal power supply would be clutch when the zombies attack.

  • The Apocalypse Isn’t Happening Anytime Soon [Infographic]

    We got word today that a bunch of new agers are climbing a mountain in France. They’re doing this to communicate with aliens who will save them from extinction when the world ends on December 21, 2012. It turns out they’re not all that unique as we are obsessed with the end of the world.

    An awesome infographic from My Free Email Search details all the failed attempts at predicting the end of the world. If you thought end of the world predictions were something new, think again. The first recorded end of the world prediction is from the Assyrians in 2800 B.C. The cause of the end for them: bribery and corruption. If that was the case, every nation on earth would have been destroyed over and over again for the past 2,000 years.

    Not surprisingly, a lot of predictions from Christian believers in the early days after Jesus had died. Various popes predicted the end of the world for various reasons including math and the rise of Islam. Other Christians believed the end would come in 1033, a thousand years after the death of Jesus.

    Predictions started getting more common in the 20th century with noted evangelists Harold Camping and Pat Robertson both predicting the end of the world. After Robertson wrongly predicted the end twice, he got out of that race. As we all know though, Camping kept going and predicted the end of the world six times with last year’s predictions causing the biggest ruckus.

    We’re not done with predictions yet though. We still have the Mayan calendar set for later this year and a few others in the far off future. Of course, the future predictions are a bit more based in science, but still way off. One prediction has the earth succumbing to overpopulation while another blames it on an asteroid.

    Thankfully, there are only two predictions that are spot on and we won’t be around to witness it anyway. The two end of the world predictions see our sun burning out in a billion years or the universe just stops working. Check out the full infographic for the rundown.

    (image)

  • New Apocalypse Survival Strategy: Aliens Inside A Mountain

    New Apocalypse Survival Strategy: Aliens Inside A Mountain

    What is up with people being so obsessed with the end of the world? Harold Camping whipped Christian believers into a frenzy last year with his two predictions that the rapture was going to happen in May and then October when the first date passed us by. This just leaves us with one of the oldest end of the world theories – the Mayan calendar that calls for an apocalypse on December 21 of this year. Some new age practitioners have found their salvation from the end of the world inside a mountain.

    The Independent is reporting that a bunch of new age hippies have descended upon the residents of the small French community of Bugarach. They aren’t interested in the people residing in the village, they care more about the mountain near it. This mountain, called Pic de Bugarach, is apparently magic and full of aliens. The new agers believe that the aliens are going to pop out of the mountain and whisk everybody in the immediate vicinity to a new world on December 21.

    This isn’t a small congregation of people either. There are estimated to be about 100,000 people who are planning on climbing up the mountain during the end of the world festivities. According to one of the devotees, this mountain is one of the “major chakras of the earth” and will be “welcoming the energies of tomorrow.”

    While I would be inclined to dismiss these new agers as people who have watched Escape from Witch Mountain and Close Encounters of the Third Kind too many times, there may be something to all of this. That something is increased tourism dollars for the people in the village. They are already making money from the people who are traveling there. The mayor of the village, Jean-Pierre Delord, is planning on holding an end of the world party. Turn it into an international event and the money will just flow in. Why do these people need their money when the world is going to end so soon?

    But I digress, it’s obvious that the world isn’t going to end on December 21. The scientists who are paid to prove these crazy theories wrong have already proven all the claims of the Mayan apocalypse to be natural occurrences with no danger of ending the world. The other big world ending events this year, a giant asteroid and solar flares, have also missed us. Let the hippies have their fun now and help them get back up when they finally realize the past year has been a Close Encounters reenactment that went nowhere.

  • Harold Camping Sorry World Failed to End

    Harold Camping Sorry World Failed to End

    Harold Camping, 90, the California radio preacher and numerologist who twice-predicted the end of the world last year, has acknowledged that his prophecies were wrong and has apologized. In a letter written on his Family Radio website, Camping called his last blunder a “sinful statement,” and asked for God to forgive him.

    Camping had initially declared May 21st, 2011 as being the end of the world. Family Radio spent millions marketing the apocalypse, hoping the Rapture would redeem all believers. Some followers quit their jobs and emptied their bank accounts to help spread the word. After nothing happened, Camping had a stroke, regrouped, claimed to be “flabbergasted,” said his initial date was a mathematical miscalculation, and rescheduled his end-of-the-world date to be in October. Nothing happened again, and Camping has recently displayed remorse.

    “We humbly acknowledge we were wrong” and “we have no new evidence pointing to another date for the end of the world,” Camping had written. Sounding less somber, Camping pointed out that the May 21st non-world-end event at least raised awareness about the bible and Jesus Christ.

    Camping added, “Family Radio has no interest in even considering another date. We have learned the very painful lesson that all of creation is in God’s hands and he will end time in his time, not ours! We humbly recognize that God may not tell his people the date when Christ will return, any more than he tells anyone the date they will die physically.”

    The video below describes some of the generalized rapturous ethos Camping peddles to his followers:

    Interestingly, Camping’s net worth is reported to hover around $75 million, but the stroke hints at actual conviction.

  • iPhone Pic Documents Apocalypse

    iPhone Pic Documents Apocalypse

    Below is a picture taken by Hector Siliezar with his iPhone at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza:

    (image)

    Very Alien vs. Predator.

    Still, Arizona State University’s Mars Space Flight Facility researcher Jonathon Hill had this to say about the odd lens flare, “the ‘light beam’ only occurs in the image with a lightning bolt in the background. The intensity of the lightning flash likely caused the camera’s CCD sensor to behave in an unusual way, either causing an entire column of pixels to offset their values or causing an internal reflection (off the) camera lens that was recorded by the sensor.”

    Siliezar’s camera EXIF data shows that the photo in question was taken on July 24, 2009 at 2:00:31 PM. The image was captured at 3.85mm focal length, F/2.8 and with a exposure time of 1/436 seconds. Hector claims that no one saw the beam shooting into the sky as he was taking the photo, which falls in line with Hill’s Technical assessment of the shot.

    An apparent iPhone 5 camera shot was recently revealed, showing a more advanced imager than that of the iPhone 4.

  • The End Of The World Is Now Scheduled On Facebook

    We’re really going to have to hear about this whole Mayan calendar apocalypse all year, aren’t we?

    Sigh.

    Well, whether you’re of the can’t-beat’em-so-join’em group or if you actually expect/hope the world to end this year, some prophetic Facebook users have created an event page about the pending armageddon just for you. The concisely titled event, The End of the World, is currently accepting RSVPs for those planning to attend the annihilation of humanity or, if you’re still on the fence about attending, you can simply check yourself as a maybe. The event is slated to take place on “Planet Earth, Every Street” and the additional information provided on the event’s page is appropriately simple:

    INVITE EVERYONE!!!!
    This might, or might not, be the biggest thing since sliced bread so don’t let your friends miss this possibly life changing experience. I want to everyone on Facebook at this here shindig so don’t disappoint.

    It’s become commonplace for people to create farcical event pages for disasters. Some of you may recall the Post-Rapture Looting event from last year before the apocalypse decided to call in sick. If the comments on the event’s page are any indication on the quality of party animals you can expect to encounter on the ubiquitous Every Street – and, more importantly, be stuck in the company of post-armageddon – you might wanna take a pass on this global catastrophe and wait around till the next cataclysm:

    The End of the WorldI can’t wait!! OH WAIT, YES I CAN! *heh* *heh* 20 minutes ago · Like · 0 comments

    The End of the WorldI’ll bring the pot. Lol 24 minutes ago · Like · 0 comments

    The End of the WorldThere with Apocalyptic Bells on! 🙂 5 minutes ago · 1 like · 0 comments

    The End of the WorldEven the end of the world couldn’t keep me away! 9 minutes ago · 1 like · 0 comments

    The End of the WorldPARTY IN THE STREETS. 22 minutes ago · Like · 1 comment

    Yes, I agree with what you are likely already thinking: the apocalypse will be attended by no one above the age of sixteen. Great party, guys. Really. So in the absence of any competing apocalypse get-togethers that might actually sound like a bit of fun, I suggest everybody roll over and hit the snooze button on this Facebook anti-party and get your nap on until the world burps up another armageddon worthy of your attendance.

  • Anthropomorphic Robot Does Push-Ups, Sweats

    Folks, I gotta tell you – I’m feeling a bit emotionally perplexed.

    On one hand this extremely human-like robot, developed by Boston Dynamics, is jaw-dropping in its technological achievement. On the other hand it’s utterly frightening, as it’s the closest thing I’ve ever seen to T-800.

    It’s actually called PETMAN, which is short for Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin. It is being developed for the U.S. Army, who plans to use the robot to test protective gear used by troops – like chemical suits and whatnot.

    Of course, in order to properly test the Army gear, the robot needs to act like a soldier. And act like a soldier it does. It walks, runs, crawls, bends, and just generally moves like a human. As you’ll see in the video, the thing even does pushups. Not only does it move like a solider, but in order to truly test the effectiveness of the gear, the robot sweats like a solider. PETMAN can simulate respiration and changes in skin temperature in order to mimic real life circumstances.

    Check it out:

    According to ieee spectrum, the PETMAN got its start as a 26 million dollar Army program. It can run at about 4.4 miles per hour and according to its developers, might eventually receive a head.

    “There are all sorts of things robots like PETMAN could be used for,” said Boston Dynamics VP of engineering Robert Playter. “Any place that has been designed for human access, mobility, or manipulation skills. Places like the Fukushima reactors could be accessed by PETMAN-like robots (or AlphaDogs), without requiring any human exposure to hazardous materials. Perhaps firefighting inside of buildings or facilities designed for human access, like on board ships designed for human crews.”

    Or, you know, enslavement of the human race or whatever.

    Boston Dynamics is already known for their advancements in the field of robotics. They’re the guys behind BigDog, the robot designed to traverse rough terrain that can carry up to 320 lbs. You can see BigDog in action below. It’s amazing how something with four legs can look so spider-like.