Uh, So Where's the Apocalypse?

I was a little disappointed this morning. If the world had ended, I wouldn't have had to let the dogs out to pee at dawn o'clock. But then, predicting the end of the world is like the little boy who cried wolf. No one believes you. I wish I could say I was surprised that I did have to let the dogs out.

A couple of weeks ago, GK asked why everyone claimed the Mayans predicted the end of the world. We'd already covered the Olmec civilization in world history. We talked about them being the precursors of the Mayans, how humans tend to settle the same regions over and over again. How several ancient civilizations were just as accurate with the astronomical calculations.

Me: "Think about it. The Mayans didn't have paper. They lived in a jungle. How did they keep records?"

GK: "They carved them in stone like the Egyptians because it's the most durable stuff they had. Metal working wasn't available in the Americas until much later than the Europeans and Asians."

Me: "Right. Now if your chiseling a calendar into stone--"

GK: "That's a lot of work!"

Me: "Yep. We use paper, and how many calendars do we do into the future?"

GK: "One or two. Oh! So they did a few hundred years into the future, their arms got tired, and they figured they do the rest later?"

Me: "Pretty much."

GK: "Does that mean some doofus on TV is going to claim we were stupid seven hundred years from now because our calendar didn't go past December 31st?"

Me: "Probably. But they won't have TVs."

GK: "Fine. Some doofus will claim through the telepathic implant network that we were idiots who thought the world ended on December 31st, 2012?"

Me: "Yep."

GK: "This is giving me a headache. I'm going to make chocolate chip cookies."