I remember the first time I read an article about Y2K. It was during journalism class in high school. I was bored--as usual--and decided to distract myself with a Newsweek that I found lying around. Inside was a short article about some type of impending computer glitch on a massive scale. The year was 1997, three full years before this nation reached mass hysteria over a non-event.
So, in honor of that moment, I'm posting my own early thoughts about the next non-event: Dec. 21st, 2012. This date, I'm sure most of you have heard by now, is the end of the Mayan calendar, and for some people, the end of life as we know it. My take? The think the Mayan calendar dude who was hunched over a hunk of rock thousands of years ago, chiseling out his masterpiece by hand, got tired. At some point, he thought to himself "You know, I've just mapped out this calendar thousands of years into the future. The winter solstice of 2012 is a good stopping point. I think I'm going to call it good."
That's it. He got up, made himself a sandwich, and then started on his next project. He was probably the village mason. Or, if you prefer, you can believe all of that nutty stuff that you find on the web. Regardless, I'm sure that in a few years, a lot of people are going to start hoarding bottled water and canned meat in their closets again. Only this time around, I predict that the delirium will reach new levels. Y2K will pale in comparison. Just remember, you read it here first.
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