The subject of the end of the world - that is, the cessation of the world as we know it (the collapse of civilisation, the destruction of the human race) - has been a constant feature of books, magazines, newspapers, cinema and television screens for many years; nowadays, it also features on the web pages of various forums. Over the last two centuries, astrologers, clairvoyants, scientists and religious believers have predicted a great many dates for the coming of the end of the world. The most recent and best-known of these are: 1833 and 1844, 1900, 1914, 1943, 1988, and 1999–2001.