Everyone knows tomorrow (December 21st) is a crucial date to the Mayans.  You can interpret their calendar in so many different ways, and theories abound ranging from plausible to just plain insane.  We’re taking a break from our Christmas series to give you a list to read before the world burns around you.

#10. Mayan Calendar

   The Mayan calendar was a lot more complex and confusing than the Gregorian calendar that is widely used today.  Basically, it is composed of five components (like our days, weeks, months, etc.)  Their day is the same as ours, 24 hours, but 20 days equals a uinal.  18 uinals equals a tun, and 20 tuns equals a k’atun (which is about 20 years).  The longest measurement is a b’ak’tun, which is made up of 20 k’atuns and is roughly 394 years.  A Mayan date is made up of 5 numbers, for each of the measurements.  So an example date would be – 8.3.2.10.15.

#9. Interpretation

 The Mayans believed there were three failed world before the successful world (the fourth) was created, which is the time we’re living in now.  The fourth world ended on the Mayan date 13.0.0.0.0, which equals December 21^st, 2012.  This world ended in complete Armageddon, and there was no fifth world.  Or at least, that is the common interpretation.  The Mayans never explicitly stated the world would end in Armageddon, and since their calendars and prophecies are so confusing, there are many interpretations.  One is that the Mayans believed a fifth world did exist, and December 21^st was not the end of the world, but rather a great change that led to a new world.

#8. Doomsday Cults

   Many people across the planet do believe that the world will end on December 21^st.  Unfortunately, many of those groups can become violent when they believe the end is approaching.  China has recently arrested over 500 members of a doomsday cult.  One of those members went on a knife attack that injured 20 children.  There is also a major concern that mass suicides will occur on December 21^st if nothing happens.  Disappointed believers will think they have nothing to live for, and cults may commit mass suicide.

#7. Bugarach

   The Pic de Bugarach is an “upside-down mountain” in southern France, meaning its top layers are older than its bottom layers.  This is because the top layer was formed by an overthrust from a nearby tectonic plate.  The nearby village of Bugarach was popular with the hippie movement in the 60s and 70s, because of the unusual mountain.  Recently, it has been decided that aliens are waiting in the mountain to spare any nearby humans at the end of the world.  This tiny village of about 200 people has seen a massive increase in tourism recently, because of the 2012 phenomenon.

#6. Aliens

   Aliens are one of the most common 2012 themes.   A popular theory is that the Mayans had help from extra-terrestrials when making their calendars, which explains their ability to foresee thousands of years into the future.  But could those same aliens be the ones to cause our destruction?  Such intelligent aliens would have weapons capable of wiping out the entire planet.  Or they could invade the Earth and simply overpower and enslave humans. But another theory is that the aliens chose that date as the day they would return, possible to give us some crucial information.

#5. Planet X/Nibiru

   In 1995, Nancy Lieder claimed to be a “contactee” who could talk to extra-terrestrials through an implant in her brain.  She announced those aliens had informed her that a mysterious planet named Nibiru, also known as Planet X, would sweep through our inner solar system.  Since the planet was four times the size of Earth, its pull would flip our magnetic poles, with catastrophic results.  This was originally suppose to occur in 2003, but when that shockingly didn’t come to pass, Lieder conveniently amended her claim to fit with the 2012 phenomenon.

#4. Pole Shift

   Changes in the poles of the Earth do exist, but they wonder by about 1 degree per a million years.  But believers hypothesize that an impact from a massive asteroid or comet could suddenly cause our magnetic poles to flip.  This would cause the biggest earthquakes and tsunamis Earth has ever seen, and would end all life on the planet for sure.  However, the comet or asteroid would need to big so large to cause such a flip, that it would likely destroy Earth in the first place, without the tsunamis or earthquakes having the chance to kill anything, or perhaps even occur.

#3. Solar Storm

   In 1859, the only cycle 10 (the largest type) solar storm ever recorded occurred.  It was so powerful that auroras were recorded across the planet, and were so bright that you could read a newspaper in the middle of the night.  Telegraphs failed globally, with many even catching fire.  If a much larger storm occurred in modern times, it could wipe out all electricity on the planet, possible taking years to replace.  While a solar storm wouldn’t kill us directly, it could leave us to fend for ourselves without electricity, and who knows what would become of society.

#2. Dark Comets

   One of the most popular apocalyptic theories has always been a huge comet wiping out the planet.  But the main argument against this is that we would be able to see such a comet for a long time before.  However, recently scientists have been speculating about “dark comets.”  These comets lack the snow and dust that makes comets reflective.  Theoretically, these comets could sneak up to us unseen, and then suddenly smash into Earth, destroying all life on the planet, without us having any warning.

#1. Cosmic Dawn

   December 21^st may not be the end of the world, but rather the beginning of a new chapter.  My favorite 2012 theory comes from Gabriel Lemus, the guardian of the eternal Mayan flame that will supposedly burn out tomorrow.  According to him, at 5 AM on the 21^st, “We will recover the ability to communicate telepathically and levitate objects like our ancestors did.”  The world may be unrecognizable by early 2013, but who knows if it will be destroyed or enlightened.