What Mayan apocalypse? It's December 21, 2012 and the world hasn't ended

In this Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 photo, tourists climb the Mayan pyramid at the archeological site in Coba, Mexico. Israel Leal / AP Photo

Those hoping to get out of last-minute holiday shopping due to the end of the world just might still see Christmas this year. And New Year's. And the next Arbor Day.
After Rev. Harold Camping incorrectly predicted the apocalypse would take place on May 21, 2011, the next most popular date is -- and now was -- December 21, 2012. But the Mayans' supposed Doomsday has already been proved wrong as that apocalyptic date has arrived in New Zealand and Australia and now all other countries, and the world hasn't ended.
According to scholars, though, the Mayans never actually said the world would end on Dec. 21. Rather, it's just the end of their calendar and the beginning of a new one, like a reset.
University of California at San Diego anthropologist Geoffrey Braswell told The Atlantic that the Mayans had three calendars: a 260-day ritual year, a 365-day year and 20-year units called katuns. "Just as the old-fashioned [car] odometers had wheels that turned, so did the wheels in the Mayan calendar," Braswell said. "What's happening right now is that we're at a point where the car odometer might reset back to all zeroes."
Also, earlier this year, Mayan astronomy scholar Anthony Aveni of Colgate University co-authored a paper that claimed another version of the Mayan calendar was found dating back 1,200 years -- and included a time span longer than 6,000 years, suggesting Earth will be around for quite a while.
"Why would they go into those numbers if the world is going to come to an end this year?" Aveni told The Telegraph. "You could say a number that big at least suggests that time marches on."
Still, it hasn't stopped people from enjoying movies like John Cusack's "2012" or from joking about the apocalypse on social media:

• "Don't worry Mayans, if you do get it wrong, it's not the end of the world," one Twitter user quipped.
• "I didn't believe the world was about to end until I read that the new Miss Universe is from Cranston, Rhode Island," Rob Tannenbaum, author of "I Want My MTV," added.


• Another Twitter post said, "Is tonight the night I can tell my boss just what I think of him? Or wait until after midnight? #endoftheworld."


• "If the world doesn't end, we will all look at the Mayans the way we look at that one weatherman that said it would be sunny when it rained," another tweeted.

Central New York residents responded to Camping's Rapture predictions last year by sharing what they'd do if the world would end tomorrow. Some planned to prepare for zombies while others wanted to spend time with family or enjoy a delicious last meal from Dinosaur Bar-Be-Que.
Either way, it looks like the only end that's near is in cinema. Below is a supercut of 38 movies about the end of the world, from "Armageddon" to "Zombieland," showing what the end could look like in 3 minutes. (Note: Some images are graphic.)