End of the World 2012 : Concern of Netizens, Nostradamus Hot on Google Search!

The seemingly all-knowing Mayans predicted it many centuries ago. Jay Sean - looking for a hit - even released a song about it two years back. But will the world actually end this year?!

A lot of netizens want to know for sure - even more now than in the past 90 days. And, in search of answers, they turned to their keyboards and Googled the name of that one person who seems to have likewise predicted it all:

Nostradamus, born on December 21, 1503, is a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties (The Prophecies). Nostradamus enthusiasts have credited him with predicting numerous events in world history, from the Great Fire of London, and the rise of Napoleon and Adolf Hitler, to the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Center. [via]

Based on data gathered by Google Insights for Search over the past 90 days, interest in the keyword Nostradamus - which translates to interest in the man himself - shot through the roof from December 31, 2011 to January 2, 2012. From getting only around 25% of search volume data during the first week of October 2011, the keyword enjoys a whopping 100% search interest as of writing. According to Google, "The numbers on the graph reflect how many searches have been done for a particular term, relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time. They don't represent absolute search volume numbers, because the data is normalized and presented on a scale from 0-100." Sounds complicated, but if anything, 100% in normalized data can only mean a large chunk of the entirety.

OK. A lot of people are turning to Nostradamus for answers but what did he say exactly?

Quoting this site, which studies everything Nostradamus wrote about the end of the world among other theories,

2012 Nostradamus predictions paint a bleak picture of massive destruction and havoc brought about by a comet. It is not clear whether this comet will strike the earth or will pass very close to our planet, causing massive earthquakes and other cataclysmic occurrences. But all interpreters of his quatrains are united on the opinion that it will be a comet which will come somewhere in December 2012. Nostradamus writes in one of his quatrains –

"In the sky will be seen a great fire dragging a trail of sparks."

This line clearly suggest a comet and many are of the opinion that it will be very big in size. Certain interpreters put the size to be just a little less than the planet Jupiter, and if such a comet passes close to the earth the effect of its gravity will cause the oceans to rise and also give rise to earthquakes. [...]

He mentions – "The Great Star will blaze for Seven days" meaning the comet will be very near the earth for seven days and nights. Further he says – "The Huge dog will howl at night, when the great pontiff will change lands." The great dog is taken to be the United Kingdom by many interpreters, and the line suggests its destruction. The pontiff is taken to be the pope and hence Rome too will be destroyed.

Comet the size of Jupiter?!

Anyway. I think only God knows when exactly the end will be.