In WeHo, Stephen Hawking Predicts End of the World

Last Dec. 21, the City of West Hollywood shelled out cash to celebrate the end of the world, as apparently forecast by Mayans, on Larabee Street in the heart of Boystown. Well, the world didn’t end. And the sparse turnout (50 people by some estimates) either indicated that most folks stayed home packing for their journey to Heaven or Hell or couldn’t be bothered.

This year, we’d suggest, the city could add a veneer of authenticity to the event by inviting noted physicist Stephen Hawking instead of the drag queens who were the centerpiece of last year’s street party. Hawking, on a visit to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center this past Tuesday (April 9) said he did not think humans would survive another thousand years “without escaping beyond our fragile planet.” If there’s a man who could foretell the end of the world, our bet is on Hawking. Epoch Times reports that Hawking, 71, was visiting Cedars-Sinai to tour a stem cell laboratory focused on trying to slow the progression of Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS. Hawking was diagnosed with the disease 50 years ago, but went on to develop a stellar reputation for his research on black holes and the origins of the cosmos.

Epoch Times reports that Hawking, who receives around-the-clock care because of his ALS condition, can only communicate by twitching his cheek. He uses a computer mounted to his wheelchair communicate in a robotic monotone.