LiveScience Topics: Doomsday

Doomsday predictions are about as common as instances of surviving doomsday prognostications. Prophets of doom can have religious or secular motivations. The latest scare, that the world will end in 2012, is rooted in myths of the Mayan calendar. Doomsday scenarios have been concocted around Halley's Comet, comet Hale-Bopp, Y2K and of course the writings of Nostradamus. But the world has not ended. Yet.

Explore Doomsday

The Truth About 2012 Doomsday Hype

The Mayan calendar ends in 2012, but Mayans never predicted the world would end.
10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

Many have foreseen the end of the world. Luckily, they're predictions have been a bit off.
2012 Cataclysm: Ancient Astronomy to Modern Myth?

Our skeptic, Ben Radford, takes on three authors to calibrate the claims of planetary disaster in 2012.

More Doomsday News and Information

Apocalyptic 'New Jerusalem' Sect Falling Apart

There's no freedom of religion. You can't play soccer, either. But John F. Kennedy is a saint.
Dead People in 1700s Were the First Celebrities

The cult of celebrity started with obituaries of unusual people in 18th-century Britain.
World to End in 2012 (Check Back for Updates)

What do doomsday cults do when the apocalypse doesn't come?
Texas Sect Earns Cult Status

A polygamous sect living on a Texas ranch raises the cult v. church question.
Top 10 Crazy Cults

Leaf through some tomes of human history, and notions of cults abound.
Top 10 Crazy Cults

LiveScience reviews the 10 craziest cults of our time.
Agriculture's Plan B: Seed Vault Opens

Humanity's biological plan B, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, is open.
Belief in Aliens Can Turn Deadly

Irrational beliefs can lead to fatal consequences.
Norway Reveals Doomsday Vault's Design

Designs shown for a vault for seeds that will be carved deep into frozen rock on an island not far from the North Pole.
Doomsday Magazine Turns 60

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a publication founded after the dropping of the first Atomic Bomb, will hold a public forum and a screening of "Dr. Stranglove."