Friday 13th Doomsday Prediction: Physicist in 1960s Claimed the World Would End on November 13, 2026

• A physicist's 1960s paper predicted the world would end on 13 November 2026 due to explosive population growth
• The journal Science revisited the doomsday prediction, pointing out that human behaviour cannot be reduced to a simple equation
• Commenters online had a field day connecting the prediction to Microsoft Outlook going down on the same day

A decades-old scientific prediction claimed 13 November 2026 would be the last day on Earth. For anyone who made it through, the news.com.au TikTok video explaining the story is well worth a watch.

In the 1960s, physicist Heinz von Foerster published a paper arguing that global populations were growing so fast that humanity would eventually be squeezed out of existence. He pinpointed 13 November 2026 as the date civilisation would collapse under its own weight. The prediction caused enough of a stir at the time to be published in the respected journal *Science*.

Read also

SA woman goes to collect her R29.99 Big Mac at McDonald's and ends up working

The twist? That precise date was not arrived at through some complex scientific model. It was von Foerster's own birthday.

The world did not end, but the irony is rich

Rather than overpopulation, the crisis dominating headlines in 2026 looks almost like the opposite problem. Birth rates in countries including Australia, the United States and China have been falling sharply, driven by soaring housing costs and unaffordable childcare. The very conditions that were supposed to produce too many people have instead made many people think twice about having children.

*Science* recently revisited von Foerster's paper, with researchers noting that human behaviour is far too complex and unpredictable to be captured in a mathematical formula. The world, it turns out, does not follow a straight line.

View the TikTok video here.

Commenters find their own signs of the apocalypse

The TikTok struck a nerve with viewers on the page, many of whom found the real disaster of the day much closer to home:

Read also

Kylie Jenner’s draws attention by trying to hide scars on the red carpet

@Matt wrote:

"Outlook is down so I guess it's the end of the world."

@Julieanne_NZ said:

"It's Friday the 13th here at 6pm, I'm still alive, don't believe what you see on internet."

@bums asked:

"It's 6:30am in the UK. Do I still have to get up for work?"

@Tia added:

"Well Microsoft is down... I guess that counts."

More Briefly News stories on dates

• SASSA has changed its November 2026 grant payment dates ahead of local elections, with millions receiving grants earlier and needing to budget for longer.
• SASSA confirms November grant dates: older persons, disability and children's payments run 3-5 November. Grant amounts and advice for delayed funds are included.
• SASSA has given an update after revised November 2026 grant payment dates ahead of the Local Government Elections, with beneficiaries urged to note the schedule.

Source: Briefly News