No, the World Will Not End on April 23

No matter how you interpret the latest cosmic signs, history tells us people don’t have the best track record at predicting the apocalypse.

Editor’s Note: A version of this article was originally published before the predicted apocalypse on September 23, 2017.

As viral videos and various tabloids tell it, April 23, 2018, will mark the end of an age. Depending on your taste, the date will either bring forth a collision between Earth and a rogue planet or a world-changing celestial alignment that heralds the End of Days.

A word of historical and scientific advice: Don't cancel your plans for May.

Humans are once again talking about our collective doom thanks to fast-burning “news” trends fanned by Google and the fringe predictions of self-published author David Meade. Last autumn, Meade’s disputed numerology predicted that Earth would encounter a (hypothetical) rogue planet called Nibiru on September 23, 2017.

September 23 came and went without incident, so Meade shifted his prediction

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