1. The Y2K Bug

Before the year 2000, many people believed that, since certain programs and microchips only identified the last two digits of the calendar year, widespread chaos would break loose due to electronic malfunctions that could even have caused planes to fall out of the sky. As we all know, 2000 came and went like any other normal year.

2. The 1950s Nuclear War Predictions

In the ‘50s and ‘60s, nuclear war between the USA and USSR seemed to be a real threat, and it’s hard to imagine today just how seriously the threat was taken. The Soviet Union fell, though, and global thermonuclear war remains to this day an unlikely story of a predicted catastrophe that never came.

3. Haley’s Comet

One of the most famous predicted disasters that never actually happened is linked to the return of Haley’s comet in 1910. Aside from the “regular” doomsday scenarios associated with comets, there was also one put forth by the Chicago Yerkes Observatory that involved the whole of humanity being killed by poisonous gas from the comet’s tail. Needless to say, nothing of the sort happened, since we’re all still here.

4. CERN Fabricating a “Black Hole”

When the Large Hadron Collider developed by CERN was first powered up in 2008, it became the largest working particle accelerator in existence. Many believed, however, that it would also create a large black hole which would eventually engulf the entire Earth. A German chemist even filed a lawsuit against CERN, arguing that the presence of a black hole would pose a threat to European civilians.

5. The 70s Worldwide Famine

Famines have been used throughout history as a means to scare people. The prediction of a worldwide famine that was set to take place in the 1970s, however, was a huge exaggeration and is considered today to be one of the biggest mistakes that renowned experts such as P.R. Ehlrich have made.

6. Nibiru

Due to the popularity related to modern-day millennium doomsday scenarios, a lot of people bought into this one. Nibiru is said to have been either a passing planet or a secondary star from a time our solar system may allegedly have been a dual star system. Self-proclaimed psychic channeler, Nancy Lieder, predicted Nibiru would return to spread chaos and destruction in 2003 and 2012. In both instances, nothing happened.

7. Apocalypse Scenarios and WW3

Probably the most famous predicted disaster that never occurred was the Apocalypse – the end of the world arriving at the beginning of the new millennium in the wake of a third global war that would lead to humanity completely destroying itself. Pictured by religious texts, psychics and, of course, motion pictures and Sci-Fi books, neither World War 3, nor the Apocalypse ever happened, but of course, that won’t stop people from predicting it in upcoming years.

Do you believe in doomsday scenarios? Do you know of any other predicted catastrophes that never actually happened and that could be considered good candidates for this list?

Sources:
io9.com
theweek.com
notrickszone.com