The World is Going to End October 15, 2007

The World is Going to End

By Guest Contributor
October 15, 2007

What do you do?

An asteroid is on a collision course with the earth and you have one hour left to live. What would you do in your last 60 minutes?

Most Britons (54%) said they’d talk to their loved ones.

13% said they “would sit back, accept the inevitable and reach for a glass of champagne.”

9% — Sex.

3% — Prayer. (Just 3%?!)

2% — Eat fatty foods.

2% — Loot.

Jim Downey asks this:

I wonder what the stats would be here in the much more religious US? Would more people “turn to prayer” in such a situation, or would the reality of immanent death show up their real priorities?

Talking the loved ones is a realistic, safe answer. But it’s not that surprising…

I’m sure we could be more creative with our second choices.

What else could you do in the final hour?


[tags]atheist, atheism, Jesus, religion, Christian[/tags]

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  • Gadren

    Depends on the phrasing of the question. If it’s as listed above, I would probably sit back and accept the inevitable. But if the question stated that “you have one hour until the asteroid hits,” then I’d be busy (depending on the circumstances):
    * Getting myself in a bunker somewhere, or seeking higher ground, or hanging onto life as much as possible
    * Writing some final words on some sort of durable, permanent medium, in hopes that they’ll be found someday by survivors and I’ll live on at least in that way

  • Eric

    Talking to loved ones is not only the easiest choice, but the best one. Unless you don’t have loved ones, or hate them (huh?). Second: if that asteroid was anywhere near me I’d be right under that beast. Sounds like a good time.

  • Richard Wade

    I’d do all that Gadren has mentioned. Large asteroids have struck the earth hundreds of times. Major extinctions have resulted but there have always been survivors. We are their descendants. Even if humanity goes extinct, maybe someday the evolved squids or whatever can argue on a blog about what I wrote. 😉

  • Relax that there was no way my mother could say that this one was my fault. I’d imagine a lot of Irishmen would use the last hour that way.

  • Linda Lindsey

    Why would you loot if you were going to die in an hour?

    As for my second choice, I’d probably eat chocolate. I haven’t had any in months.

  • HappyNat

    I’d spend the last hour reading the Friendly Atheist. 🙂

  • The 2% looting is really weird, what are they gonna do loot for 45min and then setup and enjoy that HDTV for 15min?
    For me it’s loved ones definitely with champagne 🙂

  • Lou Doench

    Well, I could loot me some champagne….

  • Mriana

    Huh? Not now, I’m busying helping the scientists divert the astroid.

    Oh a more realistic answer? Well that could happen.

    I’d probably spend time with my family and hope the scientists are successful. You know they are going to try until the darn thing hits us.

  • Can I pray to the Asteroid and make it spare my life?

  • Sing “it’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine..”

    Seriously I’d probably call my mom. Or else, esp in the case where I know there is absolutely nothing I can do to avoid the asteroid, I’d sit and meditate.

  • Newtish Inglenook

    I’ll lose the social facade and say and do whatever the hell I want.

  • John

    Have sex WHILE looting.

  • I think sex is a knee jerk reaction to this question. Get really high and/or drunk.

  • stogoe

    No calling the family for me.

    …What? The phone lines would be down worldwide from overstrain. Duh. I’d try to reach them to be with them, of course. Probably by foot – think of the traffic. Ugh.

  • Polly

    I’d spend it with my wife and whatever other family we could get to: eating my favorite foods, talking, and “other” things if convenient. Whatever communique I try to record would most likely be indecipherable to the new reigning species, and there’s plenty of other stone and metal work available to serve as evidence of our (humans’) civilization.

    The question doesn’t leave room for survival. In real life the outcome would be unknown. I’d try to get to higher ground with as much canned food and bottled water as possible – also, tools, flashlights, matches, maybe a rifle if not too burdensome… (a long shot, but I’d take my chances)

    What morons said “looting”? That’s the st000pidest thing I’ve heard. Maybe, if you had a few weeks, I could see it…

  • Patrick

    Hotwire a space shuttle.

  • I like Patrick’s answer!

  • Have sex WHILE looting AND drinking (looted) champagne AND talking to loved ones. No time like the present to learn to multitask!!

    Though, seriously, I’d be still trying to divert/destroy the damn thing.

  • Fill a truck full of supplies Ecstasy and drive to the site of The Clock of the Long Now

  • I’m with mollishka on this one.

  • Kyle

    I would shoot up copious amounts of heroin.

  • Mriana

    I like Polly’s higher ground idea. Whatever it took to survive it, I would give it a shot.

  • PrimateInRepose

    See if the camera I want is on sale. I bet it would be.

  • There’s a scene in the Simpsons movie where it looks like the town is doomed; everyone in Moe’s bar runs into the church and everyone in the church runs into the bar.

  • Rick Miller

    I’d go home to be with my family…
    but what I’d really want would be sex.
    I doubt the end of the world would put my wife in the mood.
    🙁

  • Go outside and watch the show.

  • Jen

    Sex. The phone lines would be jammed, the chance of survival nil (assuming this is something out of Douglas Adams), looting would be stupid, and I wouldn’t want to cook… I think I would also set up my favorite song to be playing. Why not?

  • Mriana

    Get me the man of my dreams (not telling) and I would consider sex. 😆

  • Man, you people sound like Jay in Dogma.

    If the world was ending in five minutes and there was nothing you could do about it…well, you can finish the thought 🙂

  • AnonyMouse

    Would it be a good time to come out as an atheist and confess my crush on Terry Farrell?

    No? Dang, thought not.

    First of all, I would bail out of the house, because the last thing I want to be doing in my last hour on Earth is hearing my family oooh and ahhh over the upcoming Tribulation, etc. I would do absolutely nothing to spoil this idea for them; ignorance is truly bliss.

    Then I would sing a lot. Top of the list would be “Opera, pt. 1” from Final Fantasy 6, some Phantom of the Opera pieces… pretty much anything I could pour a lot of emotion into. A way to keep my mind and emotions focused away from my troubles. Unfortunately, there’s no way I could keep going for a whole hour. I would probably write some personal messages to friends and family (which, of course, they would never read), maybe destroy something for stress relief, and cry a lot. ‘Cause I’m a weenie.