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December 21, 2012 — Mayan 'end of the world'
December 21, 2012 marked the end of the 5,125-year Mayan calendar cycle. Millions of people worldwide interpreted this as a prediction of the end of the world. No apocalypse occurred, but the phenomenon generated an enormous pop culture wave.
Culture
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Discovery of the Higgs boson — 2012
On July 4, 2012, CERN scientists announced the discovery of the Higgs boson — the 'God particle'. This confirmed the Standard Model of particle physics. Peter Higgs and François Englert received the Nobel Prize in 2013.
Science
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Gangnam Style — first billion views, 2012
'Gangnam Style' by PSY became the first video in YouTube history to reach 1 billion views (December 2012). The South Korean singer broke into global pop culture, and YouTube had to update its view counter.
Culture