There's a lot of freaked out people out there. What's amazing is how much money the paranoid have.

Plenty are buying "end of the world" bunkers. These underground facilities are being designed, nicely, I might add, by developers who pattern them after luxury cruise ships, with theater's, doctors and dentists office's.  The amenities that you'd expect in a high end condo, except these are underground with no view and nine foot thick nuclear blast walls.

One that was profiled on a recent Nightline by David Wright, is headed by Robert Vicinos. The facilities are called Vivos. I went to the Vivos Website. The website looks good. Lot's of snappy Flash animation. They also do a good job of scaring the crap out of you. The first thing you read when you go to the site is:

Millions of people believe that we are living in the “end times”.  Many are looking for a viable solution to survive potential future Earth devastating events.  Eventually, our planet will realize another devastating catastrophe, whether manmade, or a cyclical force of nature. Disasters are rare and unexpected, but on any sort of long timeline, they're inevitable.  It's time to prepare!

Then with nice icons, they list the dangers. Nuclear War, Bio War, Terrorism, Anarchy, Solar Flares, Pole Shift, Killer Comet, Global Tsunami, Planet X (that's new) and Super Volcanos. There's lot's to be frightened of.

The cost to get roughly 100 square feet to call your own is $50,000 per adult and $25,000 per child. By the way, your pet is free! Vivos is planning on having underground facilities all over the US before the Dec 21, 2012, the Mayan's end of the calender date. Now, I guess just to make sure no one want their money back on Dec 22, 2012, they do put in this disclaimer of sorts,

While this date is the impetus for completing Vivos, the envisioned catastrophic events can happen without notice, this year, next, in 2012, 2029, 2036, or even 100 years thereafter.

And Vivos isn't the only company planning facilities. Larry Hall in Kansas is developing a facility there in a former missile silo.

Now, the thing is, Larry's website is pretty lame, but his amenities are much better. He has an indoor pool and spa, exercise facility, movie theater, lounge, elevators. Pretty sweet. But, you'll pay for that sweetness. $1.7 million for full floors, half floors, $900,000. As I said earlier, where do frightened people get all that money.

The main question I have is why? Why are people so freaked out? Apparently, these facilities are selling. Selling really well. I mean I get it, there's a lot a bad shit these days. But, do people really believe that the world will end? Will it end like in the movie 2012, or The Road? Is this all Hollywood's fault... again? Is it Obama, BP, Afghanistan, or the stock market?

In the 1950's people built bomb shelters in their homes because of the Soviet arms race. Is this just 2010 version of that? Will the people who spent all that money for an underground bunker feel silly in a few years and try to sell them on Ebay? Hard to tell, but I think I'll save my money and take my chances. Who knows maybe they'll have the last laugh when I'm pounding on the three thousand pound door begging to get in waving my $50,000. Or maybe not.

Here's David Wright's Nightline piece: