The year has finally arrived. 2012. The end of days has come at last. Now you can say to future generations that you made it out alive with specialty products that display all things Doomsday!
Whatever preferences you like we have. T-shirts, coffee mugs, calendars are all in stock. We also have a plethora of books on everything Mayan. Learn about the culture and prophecies of the Mayan people in ways more reliable than Nostradamus himself might have predicted. While doing this you can also book a special last vacation to the Mayan ruins of Mexico. It all adds to the perfect end of the world experience!
If none of this gets you incredibly excited, then perhaps the new Mega-Apocalypse pack can get your heart pumping. Now you can have your own specially equipped shelter. This shelter is designed with the capability to withstand earthquakes, flooding, radiation, and biological attacks for an entire year! All for the low, low price of $10 million for you and your family.
Okay, if this is starting to sound a little odd, let’s go to where it all began. 2012 has itself become synonymous with the end of the Mayans (more formally Maya) calendar on Dec. 21 of this year. The end of the calendar is not necessarily a direct prophecy. However, it’s more like, as scholars have said, an end to the age that we are living in and the start of a new one. But in recent years, the end of a calendar has been blown out of proportion into a full blown prophecy of doom for all of mankind.
When one thinks of the end of the world, making money isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But in the recent years building up to 2012, the Doomsday themed merchandise has doubled in production and sales. T-shirts, mugs, survival kits, and even its own mediocre disaster movie have come out of the doomsday business. As have a menagerie of titles of books all new age themed and devoted to the end of the calendar. Their covers were interesting, but in terms of answers, they’re about as certain as getting heads in coin toss.
All of these items seem more kitsch than they do actual survivalist material. For the hardcore believers of disaster on Dec. 21 there are other things to spend money on. As I said before, shelters are available for $10 million apiece and can house at least 200 people. The most prominent of the shelter salesman is Robert Vicino, an entrepreneur in Del Mar, Calif. His company “Vivos” charges the amount of $50,000 per adult and $25,000 per child. Pets are free. The shelters also come equipped with food, water, clothing and medical facility.
As if shelters weren’t incredible enough, Johan Huibers, a Dutch contractor, has built an ark. It’s a 100 yards long and four stories tall, after he dreamt of mass flooding in his home country of the Netherlands. The dream happened 20 years ago and he has just finished his ark this past year. As of this year Huibers plans to float his ark down the River Thames for this summer’s Olympic Games in London. I wonder if he’s charging for rides.
As one can see, 2012 has become an effective marketing tool for about anyone. And maybe that’s okay for some products they’re selling. I see nothing wrong with selling harmless items like T-shirts and books. In time things like this will be seen as remnants of novelty and the Y2K of the 21st century.
What’s worrisome is the fact the some people may be interested in buying things like shelters. And as a result , they’re spending their hard earned money on something that may never happen. Also, the shelters only guarantee the occupants a year of survival. By all means, it will take humanity probably more than a year to rebuild, whatever the disaster. For me, the risk is too great to take.
And besides, $10 million? I’m better off waiting Doomsday out with some good movies and junk food. Because after all, it is the end of the world.
