Denver sirens are just a test, not doomsday signal
DENVER (AP) - Officials in Denver want people to know this is only a test.
The city is testing new outdoor warning sirens on Friday, and they're well aware of all the talk about the Mayan calendar and time running out for the world's population.
In announcing the drill, officials said they wanted to make sure that people knew that the wailing sirens didn't mean it was the end of the world.
A chorus of books and movies has sought to link the Mayan calendar to rumors of impending disasters ranging from black holes and solar storms to a change in the Earth's magnetic field.
Scientists say predictions of an impending apocalypse are a bunch of hogwash.
The city is testing new outdoor warning sirens on Friday, and they're well aware of all the talk about the Mayan calendar and time running out for the world's population.
In announcing the drill, officials said they wanted to make sure that people knew that the wailing sirens didn't mean it was the end of the world.
A chorus of books and movies has sought to link the Mayan calendar to rumors of impending disasters ranging from black holes and solar storms to a change in the Earth's magnetic field.
Scientists say predictions of an impending apocalypse are a bunch of hogwash.
So what ARE the sirens in Denver supposed to warn people about? Lahar? (Seems unlikely). Flash flood? Tornado? What? The article never did say.
 @Commenter87643 I was wondering the same thing.
@3rase According to the survey by Ipsos Global Public Affairs, 12% of Americans polled believed the world would end today, 22% believe that within their lifetime they will experience an Armageddon. http://news.discovery.com/human/doomsday-2012-poll-120504.html
 @SoTweetie And these same people vote!  Scary stuff.
 @SoTweetie  @3rase According to my poll no less than fifty percent of Americans are idiots.
Hey let it scare them. Maybe the power companies should turn the power off for a few minutes just to freak these people out even more! LOL!
 @Zoso If they could selectively turn it out, it'd be great. I wouldn't be wanting to go without power just to freak someone else out. (Darnit!)
I think the timing is hilarious, If people are stupid enough to think that the end of the world is today, then they deserve a good scare.
I dont see a problem here. The only ones who are stupid enough to believe the sirens mean the end of the world are the ones who are stupid enough to believe today is the end of the world and are already underground in their bunkers. The rest of us who can hear the sirens, are smart enough to not care, and not be worried.
People are on edge today - thinking the world is going to end. Why couldn't this be postponed for one day? Very poor timing.
 @SoTweetie People are on the edge today? Who really believed that today the world would end?
@SoTweetie Poor training or someone with a sense of humor and not as PC as could be. While I think it is not all that big of a deal I can undestand the need to careful on this. For me I at l;east found this a perfect excuse to BBQ during the winter.
Awesome idea to have it on this particular day. What a bunch of idiots.
But what if the world starts to end in the middle of a test? How would anyone know?
 @therunner The loud boom and fire rain?
Regardless of the hogwashiness of the apocalypse prediction, this was a poor idea on their part. I know there's many people out there who will still believe it's happening, especially if they hear the sirens.
@responsible adult?: Those people "who still believe it's happening," need a strong dose of reality. First thing they need to learn is to separate credible threats from pure fantasy based on nothing more than an uneducated and bogus interpretation of ancient runes. After that they need to bone up on their basic science skills, etc.