Today is the day

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… that Grigory Rasputin predicted the world would end. This has not gotten much coverage in the U.S., despite links to zombiesmarijuana legalization and solar flares.

I've discovered a remarkable connection to linguistic theory, but have decided not to reveal it so as avoid unnecessary panic during our remaining hours.



21 Comments

  1. Jona said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 7:55 am

    I wonder, what exactly ARE your objections to universal fornication in the streets under the knowledge of the upcoming apocalypse?

    [(myl) We're talking about lightenings and thunderings and voices using infer for imply and other things that I'm reluctant to mention.]

  2. Faldone said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 8:47 am

    Don't you mean "reticent to mention"?

  3. J.W. Brewer said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 8:49 am

    I am unfortunately unable to determine from quick googling whether Rasputin predicted the end for August 10 (Old Style), which is today, or whether he actually used the date August 23 (at a time when the new-fangled Gregorian calendar had not yet been imposed on Russia by the Bolsheviks), by which he in context almost certainly would have meant September 5 New Style. http://sweetlotus05.blogspot.com/2005/03/startling-predictions-from-czars.html provides some more context, but does not acknowledge the Julian/Gregorian ambiguity.

    [(myl) I wondered about that. So if we make it to tomorrow (Moscow time) we'll have something to ponder over the Labor Day weekend…]

  4. Unnamed said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 10:21 am

    Zombies are related to unseen energy under the earth.
    Marijuana legalization is related to stigmatized names on the earth.
    Solar flares are related to bright energy from the solar system.

    All this are in an accelerated process of harmony.

    If you see something, say something. There is no taboo.

  5. Simon Wright said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 12:09 pm

    Faldone, "reticent" means "not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily" whereas "reluctant" means "unwilling and hesitant; disinclined".
    At least, that's how I was taught, and what the dictionary on this Mac says. I do realise that a lot of people think as you do.

  6. KevinM said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 1:23 pm

    Simon, I think your irony detector failed to go off. Read the preceding two emails.

  7. KevinM said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 1:24 pm

    emails/posts. sorry.

  8. Faldone said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 2:21 pm

    @Simon Wright: I was riffing on myl's "… lightenings and thunderings and voices using infer for imply …"

  9. Simon Wright said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 2:58 pm

    Irony detector: disabled.

  10. Faldone said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 3:01 pm

    It's midnight in Moscow. We're safe till Sept 5.

  11. Faldone said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 3:20 pm

    Also my superpower is stealth irony.

  12. Grigory Rasputin Predicted That the World Would End Today said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 4:50 pm

    […] (PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS) August 23, 2013 • By Ryan O'Hanlon • Leave a Comment 0 Flares Filament.io 0 Flares × Today is August 23, 2013, which means that today is also the day that Grigory Rasputin said the world would come to an end. […]

  13. David Morris said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 6:21 pm

    It's already tomorrow in Australia. I didn't read this until 9.20 local time Saturday 24th.

  14. Ran Ari-Gur said,

    August 23, 2013 @ 10:24 pm

    @J.W. Brewer: Presumably a man of Rasputin's immense foresight and wisdom would have known that when predicting a 2013 event, the Gregorian calendar would be the appropriate way to specify its date.

  15. Ian Tindale said,

    August 24, 2013 @ 7:01 am

    Indeed, he even predicted Boney M.

    In my opinion, Boney M’s Rasputin is the absolute peak of musical development and expression — it could only be all downhill from that point on.

  16. richardelguru said,

    August 26, 2013 @ 7:22 am

    Sorry Ian, but that peak has already been taken. For a peek at it see:
    http://howlandbolton.com/essays/read_more.php?sid=267

  17. languagehat said,

    August 26, 2013 @ 2:38 pm

    On the OS/NS front, the linked news (or "news") article also says "Rasputin was killed on December 17, 1916," which is the OS date (by the modern calendar he died on December 30), so assuming they used dates consistently (which I realize is a leap of faith), this would be OS and we have until early September.

  18. languagehat said,

    August 26, 2013 @ 2:50 pm

    Searching the Russian internet, I can find only mentions of the August date; nobody mentions OS/NS, and nobody mentions September. It seems likely that (assuming Rasputin actually said/wrote such a thing, which is another leap of faith) he used the August date and by now everybody's forgotten that that was an older calendar. But according to this Russian news clip, the astrologers say the world's not going to end that soon anyway, so we have nothing to worry about.

  19. Luke said,

    September 5, 2013 @ 5:24 pm

    Well, it looks like disaster has been averted regardless of calendar use! whew!

  20. akash said,

    March 4, 2014 @ 4:40 am

    Zombies are related to unseen energy under the earth.
    Marijuana legalization is related to stigmatized names on the earth.
    Solar flares are related to bright energy from the solar system.

  21. Aradheya said,

    May 15, 2014 @ 6:43 am

    Zombies featured widely in Haitian folklore and zombies is a part of human souls . Really zombies are related to unseen energy under the earth .Mark Liberman share his remarkable talks with us . Keep posting

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