Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The End of the World was nigh

Kathy Marks
Sunday 04 July 1999 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

EUROPE, ASIA and much of America are already in the clear. But, as you read this over breakfast, people are still crossing their fingers in Alaska, Hawaii and Tahiti. In that part of the globe, the world has not yet not ended.

Not until noon GMT - when Monday, all being well, dawns on the International Date Line - will the world be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Yesterday will have passed, without a hint of Armageddon.

On 4 July, 1999, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were supposed to saddle up, according to one interpretation of a four-line verse written in 1555 by Michel de Nostredame, the French astrologer better known as Nostradamus.

Nostradamus, credited by his followers with prophesying the French Revolution and the Great Fire of London, predicted that a "great King of Terror" would descend from the skies in the seventh month of 1999. His vision struck a chord with doom-mongers around the world, especially in America and Japan, where people filled their freezers, battened down the hatches and, in some cases, took to the hills.

But to the disappointment of pre-millennial pessimists, Sunday came and went without disaster, in this country at least.

As Monday dawns defiantly across the globe, it appears that the world has been given a last-minute reprieve. But don't make any big plans for lunch; the day of reckoning is not quite over yet.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in