Lecture #4 really stood out to me for a few reasons. I had always know what the Y2K bug was, and the general basis for why people were afraid, but I had no idea how big it really was. I was born in 2003, so I wasn't there to experience it myself, but I did learn about it sometime in high school when I was taught the 'modern' decades of US history. I kind of thought of it like gossip, like something you'd see on a tabloid cover and would be the hottest lunchroom conversation topic at high schools across the world. I had no idea that the President of the United States got involved and had to give official press briefings about the potential internet blackout. I find it really interesting how fringe doomsday prepper groups took advantage of the Y2K craze and wove their narrative into it. I remember very well the 2012 end-of-the-world craze surrounding the Mayan calendar. I was in fourth grade, and I remember the days leading up to December 21st (the day the world was allegedly supposed to, but evidently did not, end) the majority of my class spent the day talking about how they were preparing for the oncoming apocalypse. I also remember coming home one of those days, asking if I could skip school the next day due to the world ending, and being met with a long, tired sigh and curt 'absolutely not' by my mom.
Both of these instances, where there was such a frenzy over the world ending and ultimately nothing happening, remind me of learning about "The Great Disappointment" of 1844. William Miller, a Seventh-Day Adventist preacher, gained a following of over 100,000 people by 'calculating' that the end of the world would happen on October 22, 1844. He came up with this date by using arbitrary numbers he found in The Bible and gave enchanting, charismatic sermons across the US. When the world did not end, they truly were disappointed that the rapture did not happen and that they were still alive, and the majority of Miller's followers abandoned him shortly after. This habit of using numbers from religious texts is still prominent in doomsday religious groups around the US. Here's a great video that touches on several end-of-the-world predictions: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ujYhAGJCswA&t=70s
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This was such a thoughtful and engaging read! I really appreciate how you connected the Y2K panic, the 2012 Mayan calendar scare, and "The Great Disappointment"—it shows how deeply rooted apocalyptic thinking is in both our history and culture. Your personal reflections made it even more relatable, especially the part about asking to skip school because the world was “ending” (your mom’s response was priceless!). It’s fascinating to see how fear, charisma, and misinformation can snowball into mass hysteria, and you captured that so clearly. Great job tying it all together with humor and insight!
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