Internet users around the world rushed to knock up weird and wonderful creations that saw the funny side when it turned out the world wasn't going to be besieged by raining fire or killer earthquakes.
For centuries, the ending of the Mayan calendar, which occured today, has been taken as a sign of an impending Armageddon.
But now there may be a few sheepish looks in a corner of south-east France, which was cited as the only safe spot, unless of course that UFO did turn up and they just haven't told us about it.
And one gambler was left red-faced after putting a £10 bet on the apocalypse, standing to win £50,000 if the world had ended today.
Martin Muller, a 26-year-old, from London, made the bizarre bet at odds of 5,000-1 after hearing of the Mayan Prophecy that the world would be destroyed, or changed, today at 11.11am (GMT).
He made the bet with friend Rob Moss after telling him there was more chance of the world ending than his bicycle courier business being a success.
Mr Muller said: 'I told Rob there was more chance of the world ending than his company getting off the ground.
So I thought as a joke I'd make the bet, I'd heard of the Mayan prophecy about December 21 being the apocalypse so thought what have I got to lose?'
Mr Muller's prediction for the business has already proved inaccurate as the courier service has proved so successful he has joined up himself.
With Australia one of the first countries to see the sun rise on what is supposed to be the end of days, Tourism Australia's Facebook page was bombarded with posts asking if anyone survived Down Under.
Yes, we're alive,' the organisation responded to worried users.
Scientists in Taiwan also had their tongues firmly in cheek, setting up a two-story replica of a Mayan pyramid and planting an electronic countdown timer on top, drawing crowds at the National Museum of Natural Science.
'This is not the end of the world. This is the beginning of the new world,' Star Johnsen-Moser, an American seer, said at a gathering of hundreds of spiritualists at a convention centre in Mexico's Yucatan city of Merida, an hour and a half from the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza.
Good time: Men disguised in 'martian' outfits drink beers on the streets of France. Doomsday followers were convinced there will be no December 22nd for anyone except for those who make it to the hamlet, which has a population of 189 people
Alien fun: Women with their faces painted in green walk in the French southwestern village of Bugarach, near the 1,231 meter high peak of Bugarach - one of the few places on Earth some believe would be spared
'As the appointed time came and went in several parts of the world, there was no sign of the apocalypse.
Indeed, the social network Imgur posted photos of clocks turning midnight in the Asia-Pacific region with messages such as: 'The world has not ended. Sincerely, New Zealand.'
Five 'hippies' including one brandishing a Taser gun were turned back by French police as they tried to enter a mountain village tipped to avoid the end of the world today.
Rejoice: More than 5,000 people have gathered to mark the winter solstice at Stonehenge as the date coincides with the end of the 5,125-year "long count" cycle of the Mayan calendar
'This is the beginning of a change in priorities and perceptions. We are all one,' said Esther Romo, a Mexico City businesswoman who works in art promotion and galleries. 'No limits, no boundaries, no nationalities, just fusion.'
Gabriel Romero, a Los-Angeles based practitioner of crystal skull channelling, was so sure it was not the end of the world that he planned a welcome ceremony for the new age at dawn on Saturday, when he will erect a stele, a stone monument used by the Mayans to commemorate important dates or events.
The Maya, who invented an amazingly accurate calendar almost 2,000 years ago, measured time in 394-year periods known as baktuns.
Some anthropologists believe the 13th baktun ends on December 21. Still, archaeologists have uncovered Mayan glyphs that refer to dates far, far in the future, long beyond December 21.
Yucatan governor Rolando Zapata, whose state is home to Mexico's largest Mayan population and has benefited from a boom in tourism, said he too felt the good vibes.
'We believe that the beginning of a new baktun means the beginning of a new era, and we're receiving it with great optimism,' he said.
Thousands of tourists and spiritualists are expected for today's once-in-5,125-years event. 'All the flights to the city are completely full,' Mr Zapata said.
Gabriel Romero, a Los-Angeles based practitioner of crystal skull channelling, was so sure it was not the end of the world that he planned a welcome ceremony for the new age at dawn on Saturday, when he will erect a stele, a stone monument used by the Mayans to commemorate important dates or events.
The Maya, who invented an amazingly accurate calendar almost 2,000 years ago, measured time in 394-year periods known as baktuns.
Yucatan governor Rolando Zapata, whose state is home to Mexico's largest Mayan population and has benefited from a boom in tourism, said he too felt the good vibes.
'We believe that the beginning of a new baktun means the beginning of a new era, and we're receiving it with great optimism,' he said.
Thousands of tourists and spiritualists are expected for today's once-in-5,125-years event. 'All the flights to the city are completely full,' Mr Zapata said.
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