Is the World Ending on Friday, November 13, 2026?

Doomsday 2026 isn't an internet rumour: in 1960, the journal Science predicted the end of the world on Friday, 13 November 2026, using a real population growth equation. So why did scientists believe it, and is the world really ending? Physicist Heinz von Foerster and his students Patricia Mora and Lawrence Amiot gathered 2,000 years of world population data and found something alarming. Human population growth wasn't just exponential. It was speeding itself up. When they solved their doomsday equation, the curve shot to infinity in the middle of November 2026. Their verdict: our great-great-grandchildren would not starve. They would be squeezed to death. In this animated video, you'll find out: • How the doomsday equation worked, and why it was hyperbolic, not exponential • Why it predicted world population better than many experts for 30 years • What happened in 1993 that broke the prediction • Why population growth slowed, and the twist behind the overpopulation fears • What the UN now expects for the future of world population From Thomas Malthus to Friday the 13th, this is the true story of the most famous end-of-the-world prediction in science, and why the best prediction might be the one that never comes true. Sources: von Foerster, Mora & Amiot (1960), Science 132:1291; The Conversation (2026); UN World Population Prospects. 00:00 The predicted end of the world 00:50 The population fears of 1960 01:19 Heinz von Foerster and his team 02:16 The data: 2,000 years of population 03:03 The doomsday equation 03:50 How the world reacted 04:51 Where the prediction went wrong 05:26 Why population growth slowed 06:09 Failed prediction or a warning that worked? 06:39 What really happens next 06:58 An ordinary Friday the 13th #Doomsday2026 #EndOfTheWorld #Overpopulation