Have you ever noticed how there is only ever 1 popular date for the end of the world, later ones being unpopular until after the previous one has passed? AFAIK no-one was saying in 1999, in criticism of the Y2K fear, "No, idiot, the world will end in 2012, not 2000!" A few weeks ago I read - perhaps on Richarddawkins.net - one of those "sophisticated" theologians saying "2012 is silly - it'll be 2011". This, of course, is the exact opposite of the apocalypse-delaying predictions whose apparent non-existence I'm noting. The 2011 prediction probably won't gain enough momentum to become more popular than 2012, but this is rather unusual: usually people go with the most imminent prediction, which of course is always highly imminent. Newsflash, apocalypse fans: the end of the Earth will come circa 5 billion, not 2000-odd.