Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with armageddon

Do You Want To Save The World?

thelloydshow — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:59:44 -0800

Do You Want To Save The World? Okay so I'm looking for any books, films, plays, fables, myths, folklore, games, poems etc etc etc you get the point about someone who has either been tasked to save the world (by doing something that they don't even know is actually working à la LOST and the button) or have been tasked to save the world but are unsure if it is the right thing to do.

Anything would be great!

Would our Sun really eat Earth?

Burhanistan — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:29:37 -0800

Would an expanding Sun really swallow the inner planets? Not that it keeps me up at nights, but would the Sun's projected eventual expansion into a red giant actually swallow up the inner planets? Is there actual astronomical evidence of this occurring in other star systems? I have an unfounded theory that the orbits of the planets would somehow be rebalanced further away from the sun by some combination of less gravity from the Sun (red giants are less dense) and other factors I'm not taking into account. Any research to support this?

Would the internet survive Armageddon?

szechuan — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:24:50 -0800

Would the internet survive Armageddon? For the purposes of a work of fiction, I am trying to ascertain what likely forms of communication would be available after an apocalyptic event (full scale nuclear war, some sort of pathogen that results in massive depopulation etc). All internet history notes that it was designed to survive, but is this only in the context of dedicated machines in government bunkers?

Obvious impediments would be EMP damage to computers, lack of electricity, general unavailability of ISPs. But if you can power your laptop on your bicycle, and you have the right equipment, will the internet still be available after the end of the world?

Living in a Kevin Costner Sci-Fi Movie

Telf — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 13:42:58 -0800

Where should I move in order to maximize my chances of surviving the apocalypse? Ok, I'm not actually anticipating The Rapture or anything. I've just been reading too much James Howard Kunstler and peak oil stuff.

Based on a few older AskMeFi posts, I spent most of my summer reading old post apocalyptic fiction books and self sufficiency manuals.

I'm not saying that I really buy all these worst case scenarios, but just in case....

I figure that American suburbs with their huge dependence on petroleum products and imported goods will be one of the worst places to reside in.

Let's also assume that global warming is real and that water levels have raised to the most pessimistic projections.

Should I join a commune? Is Europe a better bet? Should I hole up in a third world country? Some place like Brazil that produces its own Ethanol? What are some factors to consider?

I'm mainly interested in environmental scenarios, not so much in being left behind while everyone else is ascending to heaven.

Soundtrack to the end times

nelleish — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:27:47 -0800

Songs about the end times: tell me about songs whose lyrics give a sense, either overt or oblique, of the world ending, civilization collapsing, etc. I'm particularly looking for songs in a similar lyrical style to Don't Panic by Cold Play and When in Rome by Nickel Creek. That is, more occuring within a context of an apocalyptic time, rather than predicting one.

However! I do enjoy the "duh" answers by REM, Dave Matthews Band, Nena, and others (It's the End of the World as We Know it and so on...) as well as songs that might just be slightly unsettling and doomsday-ish. So feel free to shout out whatever songs give you the impression of the end times. Both "bang" and "whimper" versions of Armageddon welcome!

Diabolical Brainstorm: what are ways, either real or imagined, that one could erase almost all human life on earth?

quadog — Fri, 18 Mar 2005 13:07:56 -0800

Diabolical Brainstorm: what are ways, either real or imagined, that one could erase almost all human life on earth? Don't worry. I'm not actually planning something. I'm curious about compiling a list of ways that humanity could be wiped out. This could be a real-world threat or a science fiction-type threat. I'll get the ball rolling:
1. a highly contagious and lethal virus is released into the population.
2. force the earth to stop spinning.