"I don't believe it's going to be the end of the world," says Russel Devine.
Beau Fitzpatrick says,"Anything is possible."
So could doomsday be upon us? And will civilization come to a screeching halt as some predict? Believers point to the the ancient Mayan calendar, which ends on December 21, 2012.
Retired history professor Don Larson says, "The reason the Mayan calendar came to an end was they ran out of space. If that civilization continued to exist, they would have probably started another calendar."
Don Larson isn't buying all of the hype.
"The fact is, we don't know when the end of the world will take place. I'm willing to gamble it won't be tomorrow."
But not everyone is as sure. There are some who say the end is near.
Fresno State student Sandip Roy says, "One of my friends thinks that it's going to be a zombie apocalypse and he's just buying guns and all that stuff. He plays too much video games, that's what it is."
It's no laughing matter for Ken Villanueva. He planned to stock up on emergency supplies Thursday just in case.
"There are some rumors that the world is not actually going to end but there's going be a blackout tomorrow for a lot of days. If that happens, it's going to be chaos all over the place, so I'm a bit worried."
For some it's a time to worry. For others, it's a time to live it up.
"I'm going to grab a drink and everything and I'll be fine," says Roy.
Larson says perhaps the most realistic thing to do is to plan that the future will still be here.
There are some conflicting theories about the exact time doomsday might strike. One says it will hit at 11:11 p.m. wherever you happen to be in the world. Another says it will hit at 3:11 a.m. in Fresno.
A study by a Fresno State psychology professor found that about 10% of students firmly believed December 21st would be the end of the world. More than 50% believed some kind of disaster would strike.
TXT 24
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