The latest "end of the world" craze has been that of the upcoming end of the Mayan calendar in December of 2012. But, should you be worried? Depending on your age, the odds are that you've probably survived a number of "ends of the world" already. And, even if you are young and haven't lived through any of the events, the world is still here, no?

Humans have a long history of fascination with doomsday scenarios. This is probably due to survivors of ancient natural and man-made disasters fearing for their safety. They told stories to their children and grandchildren. Those stories got passed along, again and again. And, if any generation experienced a disaster of their own, it only added to the fear that what happened once can happen again. Therein, perhaps, is where prophecy got its start: warnings from the past turn into omens of the future.

Back in 999 A.D, people feared the end of the world was near. After all, 666 was the number of the beast, and 999 was 666 inverted. Surely, the apocalypse was at hand. Many even believed the then-current pope to be the anti-Christ. Legend has it that the pope himself, Sylvester II, feared that the end may come as the new millennium approached. But, as we are well aware, the world did not end in 1000 A.D.

Nor did it end 881 years later, in the year 1881, as allegedly prophesied by Mother Shipton. Though that prophecy was later found to be a forgery, it nonetheless kept going around with the year changing to 1991. The world did not end then either.

The world also did not end in the year 2000. The world did not meet its end at the hand of technology as the Y2K "bug" pretty much whimpered and died, nor did the world meet its end in a new ice age, a fiery comet crash or nuclear oblivion. Even as we survived into the new millennium with nary a hitch, the soothsayers were not yet satisfied. Since Jesus' birth may have been around 4 A.D. and not 0 A.D., we hadn't actually entered the new millennium yet. Still, the world did not end in 2004 either.

It's also very likely that December 22, 2012 will be little different from January 1, 2000 or January 1, 1000. And, once the latest "doomsday" has come and gone, no doubt there will be another to fill the void. The asteroid Apophis, being astronomically close to Earth in the late 2020's and mid-2030's, will possibly be our next "doomsday" concern.