# Why do many people seem to think that the world will end on May 21, 2011? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 24, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621 "2010-05-24T21:44:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/201 "2010-06-01T13:40:11Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > And he focused on that particular bunch of people, at that time, to lay out his message. > > Any particular reason why? Come on, I’ve got to know…what was so special about that time and place in human history to make God decide to communicate so blatantly with his subjects? The good lord realized that robes and sandals and deserts would look really great in Biblical epics directed by Cecil B. DeMille. ---
**Author:** ![Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/0ea827/32.png) [@Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zaphod_Beeblebrox)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/202 "2010-06-01T14:01:51Z")
> [@jasourdough](#): > > . Satan immediately recognized this in the next verse “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:” I should probably read the whole thread before I react, but I’m pressed for time. I apologize if this was covered, but where in the Bible does it say that the snake was (or had anything to do with) Satan? If you’re going to take the Bible literally, you should probably avoid such conclusions. If the snake was Satan, does that mean that Satan was also condemned to crawl around on his belly? If not, wasn’t it a bit unfair to snakes to condemn them all to an eternity of not having any legs? After all, the poor snake would not have been in control if Satan had taken over its body to inspire Eve to have a moment of unlawful carpophagy? ---
**Author:** ![Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/0ea827/32.png) [@Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zaphod_Beeblebrox)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/203 "2010-06-01T14:18:24Z")
Argh. I knew if I kept reading, that someone else would have brought up the snake thing. I hang my head in shame and wish I could edit my other post. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/204 "2010-06-01T18:01:00Z")
This post is the word of God. How do you know this post is the word of God? Well, because the sentence above says so. But why should we trust that? Well, because it’s the word of God, and one should always trust God. But how do we know this post is the word of God? Well, because the sentence above says so. But why should we trust that? Well… Having established that this post is indeed and irrefutably the word of God, God would now like to mention that you should really get out and exercise a little more - you’re looking a little flabby. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/205 "2010-06-01T18:12:00Z")
Hmm, all ja’s posts were to this one thread, and he may have lost interest. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/206 "2010-06-01T19:18:28Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Hmm, all ja’s posts were to this one thread, and he may have lost interest. I think he exhausted his supply of canned arguments cribbed from creationist websites. It never felt like he was actually debating – he was just parroting talking points that he’d memorized, and, once that didn’t work, Bible quotes. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/207 "2010-06-01T20:15:03Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > While walking through a parking lot yesterday, I saw a car with a placard stuck to one of the windows. It advertised a local AM Christian radio station and also boldly stated that on May 21, 2011 the world would end. What time? Central or Pacific time? I’d hate to miss it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/208 "2010-06-01T20:16:27Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Upon further reflection, I think he erred in the interpretation. > > (Atonement x Completeness x Heaven)[sup]2[/sup] = ACH[sup]2[/sup] = ACH x ACH > > Do you see? ACH x ACH? Rearrange the terms. Whaddya get? CHA x CHA. CHA CHA! > > CHA CHA! Do you see now? It’s not the end of the world! It’s JC telling you to dance! Morgan Freeman: Thou shalt do the dance. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/209 "2010-06-01T20:23:40Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Are Calvinist ministers pre-ordained? 😃 > Fie! Dating outside your group is clearly against the laws of God and nature. Not even … periodically? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/210 "2010-06-01T20:26:39Z")
> [@jasourdough](#): > > “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” Ecc 1:7 > > Why wouldn’t the rivers flowing into the sea fill it up? Evaporation occurs over the ocean surface and is transported by upper level winds driven by differential heating and the rotation of the earth. Due to convergence, mechanical processes, and changes in the lapse rate(injection of cold air aloft, a diabatic process) precipitation occurs over land masses. > > “unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again”. WRONG!!! Everyone knows that sponges live in the ocean. Everyone also knows that sponges are good at absorbing water. The real reason why the seas don’t fill up and overflow then, is because of all the sponges. It should have been obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/211 "2010-06-01T20:27:53Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > WRONG!!! > > Everyone knows that sponges live in the ocean. _UNDER_ the sea. In pineapples. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/212 "2010-06-02T02:25:45Z")
How did kangaroos get to Australia? That is easy. They must have taken a left turn at Albaquerque. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/213 "2010-06-02T02:41:15Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > How did kangaroos get to Australia? That is easy. They must have taken a left turn at Albaquerque. An equally interesting question is, why aren’t there any kangaroos left in the Middle East? In fact, why aren’t there any animals/insects that are native to every part of the planet? [Apologies if **jasourdough** covered this earlier, but I got bored.] ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/214 "2010-06-02T03:38:07Z")
The end of the world predictions have been going on a long time. My grandmother talked about the nuts at 1900. It was going on long before that. There was a woman who had her own religious TV show a couple decades ago. She predicted the end and took all her followers out to the desert to await the end. It did not happen. She gathered up all her followers, went home and recalculated the end. A few years later they all went back out there and tried again. This is just another one. [http://www.religioustolerance.org/end\_wrl10.htm](http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrl10.htm) here’s a few recent ones. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/215 "2010-06-02T04:07:43Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > An equally interesting question is, why aren’t there any kangaroos left in the Middle East? In fact, why aren’t there any animals/insects that are native to every part of the planet? [Apologies if **jasourdough** covered this earlier, but I got bored.] Apparently meteors rained down and selectively blasted different animals to different parts of the globe. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/216 "2010-06-02T04:10:42Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Apparently meteors rained down and selectively blasted different animals to different parts of the globe. Seriously. God is actually Minnesota Fats? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/217 "2010-06-02T11:00:29Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > [http://www.religioustolerance.org/end\_wrl10.htm](http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrl10.htm) here’s a few recent ones. According to that site the year 2000 would mark the start of The Tribulation, a seven year interval of great suffering and death. Bush was elected in 2000. _ **COINCIDENCE???** _ Well…yes, actually. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621/218 "2010-06-02T22:53:55Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > This post is the word of God. > > How do you know this post is the word of God? Well, because the sentence above says so. But why should we trust that? Well, because it’s the word of God, and one should always trust God. But how do we know this post is the word of God? Well, because the sentence above says so. But why should we trust that? Well… > > Having established that this post is indeed and irrefutably the word of God, God would now like to mention that you should really get out and exercise a little more - you’re looking a little flabby. I am responding to this post without reading any later posts. Why? Because I’m getting out on my bike -------- like God said. ```auto ``` [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-many-people-seem-to-think-that-the-world-will-end-on-may-21-2011/540621.md?page=10)