Has anybody worked out the normal length of time between end of the world prophecies?

Question

I am wondering if they are linked to a demographic datum.

Or if maybe it is because of a normal cycle of forgetfulness in humans regarding news.

Thank you for the Stair link. I had forgotten all about them.

Answer 1

I bet it's like biological 'crowding out', where one healthy prophecy takes resources (gullible folks) from other, weaker prophecies. You could argue that there's a niche phenomenon, too, since the religious belief of an individual affects the believability of the prophecy for that individual believer.

I suspect the Mayan Sixth World thing and the asteroid near-miss are getting mixed play from ostensible Christians who don't have a particular eschatological reason to believe one or the other. Then the Mayan one winning out would simply be due to its temporal proximity.

Answer 2

See RG Stair, who kept on through the 90s.