R E M: (Singing) It's the end of the world as we know it.Ĭopyright © 2023 NPR. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (AND I FEEL FINE)") I am just a smartphone application who isn't watching you sleep. RASCOE: That was Steve Nass and Peter Henningsen.ĪUTOMATED VOICE: But do not be alarmed. I mean, if you just throw a couple bucks to that, as you would for a 2, $3 app, I mean, that helps for sure.ĪUTOMATED VOICE: Facial recognition software is already being employed for mass surveillance. We encourage donations to a global warming charity that we think is pretty good. NASS: I mean, I think definitely, we want to get people - you know, forgive the pun, but it's a wake-up call in a sense. This is just sort of a way to firmly plant it in your head first thing in the morning so you don't totally forget. HENNINGSEN: I mean, there's so much going on in everybody's lives, these issues, these sort of overarching kind of existential issues, but they just - they kind of fall into the back of your mind with all the sort of minutiae you deal with every day. RASCOE: But ultimately, Nass and Henningsen say they're hoping to contribute to the greater good. You know, we got - we have a Google Doc somewhere with a bunch of backups. NASS: I think we agreed when we made this, you know, plague was too soon. RASCOE: The guys say they're always thinking of new scenarios to add. And we're like, yes, this - we need to make this app. HENNINGSEN: Just the idea of having all these horrible facts and with this good morning - it was something about that was just really funny to us. The alarm does have a nice little greeting. RASCOE: And they all go on a loop until you wake up. Debris would block out the sun.ĪUTOMATED VOICE: If a nuclear weapon was believed to have been launched at the United States, the president would only have 12 minutes to react. Category 10 earthquakes would be felt worldwide. Twenty known super volcanoes exist around the world.ĪUTOMATED VOICE: If a large enough asteroid were to make contact with our planet, it would cause a mass extinction. RASCOE: And you can pick from a bunch of other disasters that freak you out, like a super volcano.ĪUTOMATED VOICE: A super volcano is a volcano capable of creating extinction level events. STEVE NASS: The one funny thing about this is we did have to research all these different kinds of apocalyptic scenarios and to get all the facts and pick our favorites, favorites in this weird criterion. RASCOE: Nass says there was actually research involved. And then just sort of this idea of, well, what if we could, you know, take that that fear and turn it into an alarm clock that would really just jolt people out of bed in the morning? We're both, you know, worried about the state of the world. PETER HENNINGSEN: I think Steve and I would both agree we're pretty neurotic people. It was created by Brooklyn copywriters Steve Nass and Peter Henningsen. RASCOE: That's the voice from an app called the Doomsday Alarm Clock. Two hundred million people could be refugees by 2050. Just in case doom scrolling wasn't enough to remind you of all the bad news, you can now wake up to a reminder.ĪUTOMATED VOICE: Scientists expect climate change to worsen wildfires and floods around the globe.
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