DENVER (December 21, 2012)—Denver was testing new outdoor warning sirens on Friday, and officials say they're well aware of all the talk about the Mayan calendar and time running out for the world's population.

In announcing the drill, officials said they wanted to make sure that people knew that the wailing sirens didn't mean it was the end of the world.

A chorus of books and movies has sought to link the Mayan calendar to rumors of impending disasters ranging from black holes and solar storms to a change in the Earth's magnetic field.

Scientists called the predictions of an impending apocalypse a bunch of hogwash.