Mayan Doomsday Theory False: Top 10 Defunct Apocalypse Prophecies

With "experts" now poo pooing the Mayan December, 2012 doomsday prophecy the IBTimes has chosen to celebrate the fact the world will keep-turning yet another year, offering you the lucky reader a breakdown of the top 10 most entertaining defunct doomsday prophecies.

The 11.11.11 Prophecy

Despite a lack of solid evidence, or at times even common sense, a number of groups issued reports earlier in the year suggesting the world would end on 11 Nov., 2011.

One of the prominent "theories" circling the cyber-highways suggests that the Mayan calender prophesied the world's end on the 11 Nov. 2011.

Luckily the exact reason for the 11.11.11 date's link to the ancient calender is questionable at best. The long-count Mayan calender is reported to end soon, though the common date given for its end is actually 21 Dec. 2012.

An alternative theory to the significance of 11 Nov., 2011 stems from The Corduroy Appreciation Club (CAC), which is set to celebrate the fact that " THE DATE WHICH MOST CLOSELY RESEMBLES CORDUROY, EVER IS UPON US" -- we prefer this one.

Harold Camping

Earlier in 2011 California preacher and former radio "personality" Harold Camping predicted that the world would end 21 October.

Now defunct -- by merit of the fact we're still here -- the theory followed Camping's previous failed prediction that the rapture would occur on 21 May, when God would take 200 million good Christians, meaning people who followed Camping, to Heaven.

After swinging two misses, 90-year-old Camping resigned from his post at Family Radion and apologised to his followers admitting that he found the whole thing a bit "embarrassing" -- well at least he was a polite fake prophet.

Jehovah's Witness Predictions

While the Jehovah's Witnesses can't necessarily be listed as a "failed" prophecy as they are still putting out new dates, they certainly have had their fair share of failed doomsdays.

Since popping up in 1870s the Witnesses have predicted the world will end on 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994. Luckily for members, given the groups tendency to just add a new date a few years down the line they're bound to get it right sooner or later -- it just may take while.

Edgar C. Whisenant

Despite apparently being a man of science, working as a NASA engineer, Edgar C. Whisenant not only offered his own doomsday prediction, he gave 88 "reasons" why it would.

In his book "88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988," Whisenant unsurprisingly predicted that the rapture would occur between 11-13 September 1988. While some would call him a fool, the book did sell 4.5 million copies and he managed to get a nice career re-releasing doomsday predictions right up to the day he died on 16 May, 2001.

Nostradamus

One of the most famous hit-and-miss foreseers of the future, Nostradamus predicted that the end of the world would occur in July 1999.

Specifically, Nostradamus wrote: "The year 1999, seventh month, From the sky will come a great King of Terror. To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols, Before and after Mars to reign by good luck."

Lucky for us, come July 1999 the martians failed to appear, leaving them safely housed next to Scientology's Xenu in the realm of things that -- probably -- don't exist.

Y2K

The lead up to the millennium saw one of the largest and most widespread doomsday theories ever constructed sweep across the globe.

The most prominent theory revolved around the theorised "millennium bug." According to a slew of "experts" the world's computers would be unable to deal with the "rollover" from 99 to 00. The biggest fear-mongers even went so far as to suggest that the bug would effect military computers, potentially "accidentally" launching nuclear missiles.

For better or worse, come the actual turn of the millennium all people really had to worry about was the inevitable 1 January, 2000 hangover.

Joanna Southcott

Self-proclaimed English mystic Joanna Southcott was born 1750. Well balanced person that she was, at some unknown point in her life she became convinced she had supernatural powers and proclaimed that she was the woman spoken of in Revaluations 12:1-6.

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars," read the exact passage.

Following her bold claim-to-fame Joanna predicted that she would give birth to the Messiah and that the world would end on 19 October, 1814.

As you would guess the world didn't end and Joana herself died two months later.

The Prophet Hen of Leeds, 1806

One of the most bizarre failed doomsday predictions, arose in 1806 when a hen allegedly laid an egg with the words "Christ is coming" written on it.

The prophetic hen was from Leeds, England. After the eggs began to emerge many of the local populace became convinced that the end of the world was at hand. Luckily, one unnamed sensible chap decided to actually watch the magic hen lay eggs and soon learned that the hen was just a hen.

As it turned out, the hoaxster had etched the "Christ is coming" message into the eggs before reinserting the eggs back into the hen.

Mormon Armageddon, 1891 or earlier

The Mormon church's founder Joseph Smith originally made his doomsday prediction all the way back in February 1835. In his famous meeting with church leaders Smith claimed that he had spoken to God "recently" who had revealed to him that Jesus would return within the next 56 years and that the End Times would soon follow.

Pope Innocent's Number Of The Beast

One of the most "colourful" of all the Pope's, Innocent III did away with all modesty, redefining his role as Pope to making him more akin to a demigod than a man. Proclaiming himself as a Biblical priest-king, Innocent housed a profound hatred of Islam.

In his writings he went so far as to claim that the prophet Muhammad was actually "the beast" referred to in the book of Revelation. Continuing his hatred of the religion Innocent III went on to predict the world would end in 1284. He made the prediction by adding together the number of beast 666, to 618, the year he calculated Islam as being founded.