This Man Will Protect You from the End of the World

Liu Qiyuan refuses to die on December 21 — the day of this alleged Mayan apocalypse — which is why he's spent around $350,000 constructing seven gigantic survival pods strong enough, he claims, to withstand fires, tsunamis, and earthquakes.

Liu Qiyuan refuses to die on December 21 — the day of this alleged Mayan apocalypse — which is why he's spent around $350,000 constructing seven gigantic balls survival pods strong enough, he claims, to withstand fires, tsunamis, and earthquakes. "If there is really some kind of apocalypse, then if you use my product, it has the ability to save people, and I think that would be my contribution to humanity," Liu said. Okay, we get that this is totally hard to believe, so here's a video of Liu telling the AFP about his life-saving devices:

You might think Liu is a little crazy with his insta-bomb shelter, but he's actually a semi-savvy entrepreneur. The Chinese are taking this end-of-the-world prophecy as seriously as anyone: Three days of uninterrupted darkness? Yeah, they're running out of candles. Total annihilation? People in China are definitely selling off their houses and giving all the money to orphanages. Unfortunately for Liu, no one has purchased a single one of his balls, and the national maritime department hasn't contacted him ... yet.