Thinking back these things come along about every eight to twelve years.
Around 1992,3 there was a planetary alignment that was coming up, and for a decade or so before that, there were claims that this was going to result in the end of the world. I know a guy who totally screwed up his life, at least in part influenced on his fear of this end of the world event.
As you state there was the Y2K thing.
Now there’s 2012.
After 2012, there will be something else to obsess over.
The weak minded are in for a tough ride over the next three years. The media is going to ride this pony for all it’s worth. I suspect we’re just getting started.
Alien invasions, black holes created by super colliders, coronal mass ejections from the sun, asteroid close calls in 2029 and 2036 and the Y2038 problem with Unix computers.