# May 21st, the end of the world. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 7, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825 "2011-03-07T19:55:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/1 "2011-03-07T19:55:34Z")
There is a house I drive by sometimes and it always has the same SUV parked in the front. The car is covered in a giant decal that proclaims the end of the world will be May 21, 2011. Well, you can imagine that I’m starting to get worried, that is just around the corner. I had to google it and there is a nice website with a lot of convoluted numerology about how they know this exact date. But I can’t help wondering, if the end of the world is so close and the owner of the car is so certain that he is willing spent the money to decal his car as a billboard, why is he also remodeling his house? Is there something about “end of the world” that I don’t understand? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/2 "2011-03-07T20:03:32Z")
If all the good folks are raptured it’s just good manners to leave a nice home behind for the damned to live in. It’s not like you have to pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/3 "2011-03-07T21:35:52Z")
Saw this at [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) yesterday: [Road trip to the end of the world - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/03/06/judgment.day.caravan/) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/4 "2011-03-07T21:47:11Z")
Just in case anyone cares, [here is the incontrovertible logic](http://www.familyradio.com/graphical/literature/judgment/judgment.html) :rolleyes: behind the date calculation. Read it soon, for on May 22, it will be obsolete and the date recalculated to another, using the same biblical sources and hopeful thinking. Then we’ll be off again on another crusade. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/5 "2011-03-07T22:19:00Z")
I guess I better hurry up if I’m gonna buy a new car! The clock’s a-ticking! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/6 "2011-03-07T22:37:45Z")
May 21, 2011? But I’ve got it pencilled in for 2012! ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/7 "2011-03-08T01:22:07Z")
Maybe he’s planning on selling his house (profit!) before May 21st, so that’s why the remodel is still going on. It’s always good to see a hopeful end-of-the-world type. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/8 "2011-03-08T02:24:48Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Maybe he’s planning on selling his house (profit!) before May 21st, so that’s why the remodel is still going on. It’s always good to see a hopeful end-of-the-world type. End of the World ??? Profit ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/9 "2011-03-08T02:51:07Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > End of the World > ??? > Profit End of the World ??? Prophet. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/10 "2011-03-08T03:57:58Z")
I’ve been through two end of world scenarios, one being in 1981 where some kook predicted the rapture. As my family was vacationing near a beach in SC then, us kids ran to the beach and waited. Nothing happened so we concluded that there were no true Christians in South Carolina. The other was supposed to occur on May 5 of 2000. According to the weird book I read, it would involve the world going off its axis and this would cause lawnmowers to rain from the sky. I was excited because I really needed a lawnmower and I ordered my co- workers to help on the exciting day by catching them. They looked at me funny and backed away. Well, the day came and went and soon I realized I’d just have to buy a mower at Sears. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/11 "2011-03-08T04:18:34Z")
May 21st? That’s too soon! We haven’t got our new [polymer banknotes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=554657) yet! ---
**Author:** ![Nathan\_E.Zephyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dc4da7/32.png) [@Nathan\_E.Zephyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nathan_E.Zephyr)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/12 "2011-03-08T05:13:29Z")
So much for spending my tax refund. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/13 "2011-03-08T08:50:11Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Maybe he’s planning on selling his house (profit!) before May 21st, so that’s why the remodel is still going on. It’s always good to see a hopeful end-of-the-world type. So what does he plan to do with the money? Take it with him? Excuse me while I find a camel and a needle. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/14 "2011-03-08T10:10:17Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Saw this at [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) yesterday: [Road trip to the end of the world - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/03/06/judgment.day.caravan/) > [@](#): > > Maneuvering onto the road with such a serious statement takes time and patience. > > The five vehicles in this caravan are numbered 11 through 15, and the ambassadors line them up in numerical order before hitting the road. They work hard to stay in one lane and keep other cars from breaking into the convoy. That’s the best way to be noticed, they say. > > The drivers, their vehicles spread out in a parking lot, spend about 10 minutes doing a choreographed RV dance to get in proper formation. > > From the back of No. 14, we hold tight to our equipment, and our seats, as the jerking around begins. > > Reverse. Forward. Turn to the left. > Caravans of RVs are crisscrossing the country spreading the “awesome news” of the end of the world. > Caravans of RVs are crisscrossing the country spreading the “awesome news” of the end of the world. > > “Eleven, 15, go back please,” a voice crackles over the walkie-talkies. > > Spin around. Veer right. Stop. Wait. > > “Is everyone in order and ready to come out of there?” Crackle, crackle. “13?” > > “Ten-four.” > > “I hope the Rapture is smoother than this,” one driver says. One would think that they could actually park in some sort of order, or after however long they have been doing this learned to do it efficiently and smoothly … ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/15 "2011-03-08T12:24:05Z")
Damn it, why didn’t I join this year’s death pool and pick Everyone in the World? I would have won _easy_. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/16 "2011-03-08T14:50:59Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > There is a house I drive by sometimes and it always has the same SUV parked in the front. The car is covered in a giant decal that proclaims the end of the world will be May 21, 2011. Well, you can imagine that I’m starting to get worried, that is just around the corner. I had to google it and there is a nice website with a lot of convoluted numerology about how they know this exact date. > > But I can’t help wondering, if the end of the world is so close and the owner of the car is so certain that he is willing spent the money to decal his car as a billboard, why is he also remodeling his house? Is there something about “end of the world” that I don’t understand? This wouldn’t be off of King’s Highway near Alexandria, would it? There’s a house there (intersection of Memorial or maybe Harrison) that has signs proclaiming some very religious-based radio station. Haven’t particularly looked at any SUV (I don’t go by that terribly often). ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/17 "2011-03-08T18:14:04Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > This wouldn’t be off of King’s Highway near Alexandria, would it? There’s a house there (intersection of Memorial or maybe Harrison) that has signs proclaiming some very religious-based radio station. Haven’t particularly looked at any SUV (I don’t go by that terribly often). That’s the one. The house across the street always has a massive Christmas light display. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/18 "2011-03-08T18:29:51Z")
But but but… everyone on the mommy message boards is freaking out about 12/21/12. It’s the end of the _Incan_ calendar! _snicker_ No seriously. They’re putting together 72-hour survival kits. I guess if you get through the first 72 hours of the end of the world you’re golden. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/19 "2011-03-08T18:45:04Z")
I only have enough money to live on till May 31st, so that comes as a relief, I won’t have to worry anymore 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825/20 "2011-03-08T18:50:44Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > But but but… everyone on the mommy message boards is freaking out about 12/21/12. It’s the end of the _Incan_ calendar! Who are you going to believe, the _Incans_ or a nice SUV with decals? I swear, some people can be so gullible. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-21st-the-end-of-the-world/573825.md?page=2)