![Mayan calendar. Mayan calendar.](/photos/620x0/40340_hd.jpg)
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12/20/12 - the date regarded by some as the end of the Mayan calendar - is just around the corner, and we coulnd't help but notice quite a bit of hype.
We surfed the digital waves and fished out the top five stories fit for firm believers and perennial skeptics alike.
1.
WIKIPEDIA - 2012 PHENOMENON
WHAT Everything you wanted to know about 12/20/12 - and then some.
FAVORITE QUOTE “A New Age interpretation of this transition is that the date marks the start of time in which Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation.”
2.
NASA - BEYOND 2012: WHY THE WORLD WON’T END
WHAT NASA’s scientific-based approach negates the pessimistic interpretation of 12/20/12.
FAVORITE QUOTE “Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012.”
3.
THE ATLANTIC - HAPPY MAYAN HOLIDAYS: CHINESE EMPLOYEES GET A DOOMSDAY VACATION
WHAT A company in China generously offers its employees a paid vacation and time off work.
FAVORITE QUOTE “If you work at Chengdu Higgses Internet Technology Company, you will be given a two-day 'Doomsday vacation' on December 20 and 21.”
4.
WIRED - 12/21/12: DEFINITELY NOT THE END OF THE WORLD
WHAT WIRED’s Erik Klemetti determinedly refutes every last claim about the encroaching doomsday - with a big dose of humor.
FAVORITE QUOTE “There have been so many false “endtimes” predictions that, as Riley Finn put it: ‘It turns out I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of apocalypse.’”
5.
FLAVORWIRE - 10 AWESOME BUNKERS: JUST IN CASE THE WORLD ENDS
WHAT Flavorwire takes uses an architectural twist on 12/21/12 with a photographc journey of breathtaking escapes.
FAVORITE QUOTE “If James Bond lived in a bunker, surely it would be this one.”