DOOMSDAY TALES

Did you know about these 10 famous failed predictions?

Image: Javier Miranda

Oddly, the idea of the apocalypse has always fascinated humanity. Throughout history, many have predicted the end of the world with fervor and certainty - and many have believed in these predictions with genuine dread.

However, time and time again, these doomsday prophecies have failed to materialize, leaving many scratching their heads or just breathing a sigh of relief. Let's take a look at 10 instances where the world didn't end as predicted.

Image: Zoltan Tasi

Some historians believe that as the first millennium drew to a close, widespread panic gripped Europe, with many fearing the end of the world would coincide with the year 1000. The belief was rooted in Christian theology, as a thousand years had passed since Jesus’ birth. However, when the anticipated end-of-days came, absolutely nothing happened. Some were disappointed, while others hit the snooze button on the prophesized apocalypse until 1033, a thousand years after Jesus’ crucifixion (spoiler alert: they were also wrong).

Image: Elias Null

In 1499, Johannes Stöffler, a German mathematician and astronomer, predicted that a great flood would engulf the world on February 20, 1524. Stöffler based his prophecy on the alignment of planets under the watery sign of Pisces, believing it foretold a catastrophic deluge. His prophecy was believed by many, and boat builders saw an unexpected boom in sales, with even a German nobleman ordering to build a three-story ark.

Image: eberhard grossgasteiger

One of the most notable failed doomsday predictions in religious history was the prophesied by William Miller, an American clergyman. Miller predicted the Second Coming of Christ on October 22, 1844, and his prophecy led to an ardent following known as the Millerites. However, when Jesus failed to appear as expected, his followers experienced what they called the "Great Disappointment." Many were justifiably angry, as they had sold their earthly possessions in a hurry, while many others turned to different congregations, or abandoned their beliefs completely.

Image: Steve Busch

As Halley's Comet made its close approach to Earth in 1910, an observatory in Chicago announced that it had detected a toxic gas called cyanogen in the composition of the comet’s tail. Although ridiculous by modern standards, rumors then spread of the danger of the comet's poisonous gas tail, exacerbated by reports from media outlets like The New York Times, which reported that a French astronomer believed the gas could "impregnate the atmosphere" and asphyxiate all life on the planet.

Image: Daniil Silantev

Famed psychic Edgar Cayce prophesied a series of cataclysmic events he called "Earth Changes," that included the sinking of continents and the shifting of poles among many other catastrophes, during the late 20th century. Despite Cayce's reputation for accuracy in other predictions, these apocalyptic visions never materialized, leaving his followers perplexed.

Image: Tom Wheatley

In the 1970s, scientists noticed that global temperatures had decreased slightly since the 40s, and some conjectured that this trend could lead to an impending ice age. Though very few scientists actually thought this was likely - and most actually warned of the opposite trend of global warming - sensationalist media quickly picked up the ice age prediction, sparking fears of widespread famine and societal collapse. However, as subsequent research revealed the complexities of climate dynamics, the notion of an imminent ice age apocalypse was thoroughly debunked.

Image: Planet Volumes

In 1974, John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann - two actual scientists for a change - theorized that the tidal forces resulting from the alignment of planets in our solar system, particularly Jupiter, could lead to catastrophic earthquakes in 1982. Though they later reconsidered their position after further research, their predictions gained some traction in the media. Luckily, the supposed effect failed to cause any noticeable disruption, and planetary alignments again proved to be completely harmless to life on Earth.

Image: Jake Walker

The turn of the millennium brought widespread fear of a technological meltdown due to a hypothetical software error known as the Y2K bug. Experts warned of computers crashing and electronically operated infrastructure collapsing as their internal clocks rolled over to the year 2000. Yet, when the clock struck midnight, the anticipated chaos failed to materialize, in part thanks to extensive preparation and updates to computer systems worldwide, but even where little had been done to prevent the error, problems were almost non-existent.

Image: Antonio Vivace

When the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was switched on in 2008, concerns arose of potential black holes swallowing the Earth or the accidental creation of strange particles that could convert all matter into a new form. Since one of the stated goals of the LHC was actually to simulate microscopic black holes, it was natural for some people without knowledge of the matter to get a little nervous. However, obviously nothing bad happened, and the LHC has operated safely, advancing our understanding of particle physics without bringing about our demise.

Image: Kym MacKinnon

As the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar approached in 2012, speculation ran rampant that it signaled the end of the world. Despite Mayan scholars stating that there were no end of the world prophecies included in the ancient calendar, believers predicted all sorts of crazy catastrophes, from planetary alignment to cataclysmic events. As we all know, December 21, 2012, came and went without incident, proving doomsayers wrong once again.

A lesson in good marketing

10 brands that became generic names of a product

When thinking about a certain product, we can all point to a brand that is the most known. But sometimes, a brand will be so popular that it will become the generic name of the product. Let’s have a look at 10 brands that have become a synonym for the product’s name.

A staple in the wintertime, Chapstick is actually a well-known brand of lip balm that has been around since the late 19th Century. With a trajectory that long, it’s no surprise that the name has become synonymous with the product.

What family has not been saved by a Crock-Pot on a busy day? This appliance lets you cook food at a steady temperature and a slow pace, and its actual name (slow cooker) reflects that. However, the Crock-Pot brand of slow cookers is so popular that it is used as a generic name.

Jacuzzis are a great way to destress after a hectic week and to relieve body pains. However, what we colloquially call ‘a jacuzzi’ is in fact a hot tub (sometimes called a whirlpool tub). The Jacuzzi company not only sells hot tubs, but also products such as mattresses and towels.

You might know this one: kleenex are not really called kleenex, but facial tissues. The Kleenex brand offers a wide range of products, most of them paper-based, with tissues being one of the best-known.

What do you use for transferring archives and data between computers? If you said ‘Memory stick’, you are wrong (unless it's from the brand Sony). The proper generic name for this device is flash memory storage device.

The name ‘ping pong’ is so common that we sometimes forget that the sport’s actual name is table tennis. Ping Pong is a trademarked name, nearly a hundred years old.

The use of ‘scotch tape’ as a generic name is so widespread that it even appears in some dictionaries. However, its correct name is clear adhesive tape, which sometimes is from the Scotch Tape brand.

The prized possession of many mothers around the world, the Tupperware brand is one of the best-known when it comes to kitchen products. Its containers are particularly famous, and the brand name is often used for any plastic container.

No one can argue that the word zipper is part of the common lexicon and it’s used in a generic sense. But the word has been trademarked by the Universal Fastener Company since 1917. Similar products from different brands should be called ‘separable fasteners’.

The use of this word as generic involves a legal battle between Wham-O (the original trademark owner) and another toy company that argued that the word ‘frisbee’ had been incorporated into the common language as generic. The court ruled in favor of the original company, so off-brand frisbees are still legally called flying disks.