Apparently this discovery was made earlier this week, but it’s resurfacing today, because it’s that important. Just in case you missed it: the world might not end in the year 2012. A new, scientifically-researched book, Calendars and Years II: The Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World, confirms the theory that our former conversion of dates from the Mayan calendar (previously believed to end in 2012 and thus predict the end of the world) to our calendar could be off by 50 to 100 years.
Woah. The age-old 2012 myth has been turned into books, movies - hell, it’s an entire industry, equipped with conventions and everything. It’s the year Sarah Palin might run for President, and it’s the year you used to excuse all your questionable behavior. (Wait, did you do that, too?) Of course this is great news! We don’t want the world to end. But if you happened to have continuously used the 2012 excuse to justify rash or questionable decisions, quietly convincing yourself that it won’t matter in two years, you might be out of luck. Unless the Mayan calendar was only off by one year. In which case, New Year’s 2011: Go crazy.
End of the Earth Postponed [Live Science via Newser]
Related: How to Sell an Apocalypse [NYM]
