[anymouse]

Chicken Little is alive and well and working for Reuters. :)

[So Cal Rocket]

How many of us will be on the ***Free Republic Asteriod Live Thread*** when it impacts earth?

[OESY]

I can see the New York Times headlines now: GIANT ASTEROID DESTROYS EARTH: Women and Minorities Especially Hard Hit

[GraniteStateConservative]

one in 909,000.

Yeah, but people win "1 in 120,526,770 odds" Powerball several times a year.

[humblegunner]

Bruce Willis, please pick up the red courtesy phone.

[gitmo]

Man, that's gonna hurt.

[Grig]

For those of you keeping track, we have Near Earth Asteroids due:

21 Mar 2014
01 Feb 2019
?? ??? 2022
08 Apr 2024
and one in 2028 (give or take 3 years)

In the past couple of years we have seen 2 new and very bright commets, the brightest full moon in thousands of years, the brightest Mars in tens of thousands of years, an alignment of ALL the planets, biggest meteor showers in at least a lifetime, a spectacular asteroid impact on Jupiter, and more.

Also, Sir Issac Newton predicted the end would come in 2060, and the Aztec calendar marks the end of the world as being 23 Dec 2012.

Have a nice day.

[OESY]

DIRECTIVE From The EPA: Were a giant asteroid to hit the earth, the air may not be safe to breathe.

NOTICE From The Surgeon General: The Surgeon General has determined that running from a giant asteroid danger may be hazardous to your health as you could slip, fall and hurt yourself.

Press Release From OSHA: Legislation is being prepared to require warning labels on all buildings that might be hit by the giant asteroid.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

[OESY]

16 Words That Shocked the World: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

Scenes We Saw: "I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force - if necessary - to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." -- John F. Kerry, Oct 2002

19 Words That Shocked the World: "A giant asteroid is heading for Earth and could hit in 2014, U.S. astronomers have warned British space monitors."

Scenes We'd Like To See: "I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force - if necessary - to disarm the giant asteroid because I believe that it is a weapon of mass destruction that is a real and grave threat to our security." -- John F. Kerry, Oct 2003

[GPBurdell]

Well, this story explains why the markets were up today. One less thing for traders to worry about.

Buzz in Lawrenceville
The Buzz Blog

[VetoBill]

Maybe we can turn this into a business venture. Figure out where the asteroid will hit and sell observation plans.

"In this time of crisis, we at EarthHIT ^TM wish to express out condolences on the upcoming death of the planet Earth... but until that time turn tears of sadness into tear of joy! Don't watch TV to see The Hit... see it in PERSON!

For the truly adventurous there is but one place to be in 2014. Live, unedited, a once in a life time event! Experience the searing heat as the 'roid passes overhead. Become part the pressure wave as millions of tons of soil are dispersed into the atmosphere. For added pleasure, performances by Carrot Top and Pauley Shore will be located directly at ground zero. Don’t miss this event, it sure won’t miss you!

The first 5000 tickets sold will be automatically entered to win a one of a kind Meteor ^TM Harley Davidson (drawing to be held after the hit). Don’t wait, book today!”

[CodeMonkey]

Maybe this will finally spur on the necessity of colonizing Mars and other planets. For the time being, it would be a good idea to consider stripping our planet of as much Uranium as we can, moving enough nuclear weapons to the moon in preparation as we possibly can. Just imagine, instead of hitting it with 36Mt we hit it with 1Teraton of nuclear ordinance? (1000 megatons in a gigaton, 1000 gigatons in a teraton, right?)

[vpintheak]

If it's gonna hit earth, lets hope it hits in the France Germany region of the earth.

[Bubba_Leroy]

Bummer. Guess I'd better not plan anything that day.

[farmfriend]

ping

[lawdude]

"...the chances of a catastrophic collision are just one in 909,000. "

Actually, I have it on good authority that the number is really 908,583..

But who is counting?

The purveyor of these numbers had to wipe her hands with TP then wash after going to the source!

[JoeSchem]

the chances of a catastrophic collision are just one in 909,000.

If you wonder why stories like this pop up every three weeks or so, consider that most people buy lotto tickets at odds against winning higher than that. Lotteries are for people who don't understand probability theory, and so is Reuters.

[tet68]

But for those fearing Armageddon, don't be alarmed -- the chances of a catastrophic collision are just one in 909,000.

People DO win the lottery and the odds are a LOT worse.

We're all Gonna DIE!
And that't the end of the world news for tonight.

[Johnbalaya]

Asteroids attack?

Bringe 'em on!

[Revolting cat!]

Shoot! There goes my lifetime subscription to National Geographic!