If you believe certain people have the power to predict the future then you'll never be disappointed when the world gets worse, since that's pretty much always what they say.
Over the years of human existence there's been people who've made vague statements which if interpreted in a generous way could mean they were able to successfully call major historical events.
Of course, these people also tend to throw an incredible amount of s**t at a wall so at least some of it sticks, which is very much The Simpsons method of foretelling the future.
Many of these predictions tend towards doom and gloom, so when four of the more famous predictors suggest that it'll be World War Three by the end of the year, that's not far out of line with expectations.
Tensions in the world certainly have risen over the past few years, with various conflicts sparking u,p including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has reached a point where NATO countries are saying they'll shoot down Russian aircraft which violate their airspace.
Baba Vanga was a soothsayer who reportedly left a ton of future predictions before her death in 1996 (Wikipedia) Baba Vanga
Everyone's favourite blind Bulgarian claimed World War Three was coming and that Russia would win it, though she seems to have got the timings wrong.
She said: "In the spring, a war in the East will begin and there will be a third World War. A war in the East that will destroy the West."
If she's talking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine then she's off by three years, but she claimed that in the aftermath Russia would 'dominate the world'.
She's been dead for almost 30 years at this point but it hasn't stopped her from foretelling our doom.
Centuries dead, still decently read (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images) Nostradamus
Someone who has been dead a lot longer was also predicting disaster in 2025, and the French prophet has claimed the catastrophe will continue into the following year.
However, while Baba Vanga reckons the war will start in the East, Nostradamus claimed that we should be looking at England for the starting point.
He claimed: "When those from the lands of Europe see England set up her throne behind her flanks, there will be cruel wars.
"The kingdom will be marked by wars so cruel, foes from within and without will arise. A great pestilence from the past returns, no enemy more deadly under the skies."
Sounds cheery.
It's not a happy bunch of predictions (Getty Stock Photo) 'Living Nostradamus'
The actual Nostradamus is long dead, but a guy who gets called the 'living Nostradamus' is Athos Salomé of Brazil.
He reckons a global war is imminent, and that it will be 'not just a war of men, but of machines', which you could interpret as a comment on the rise of drone warfare.
That's the thing with this prophecy business, you say things are going to get worse, and then you make it vague enough that people can interpret it to fit current events.
You don't get ahead in the prophecy business by predicting things are going to get better (Getty Stock Photo) Nicolas Aujula
The London-based hypnotherapist claimed that the 'lack of compassion in the world' could result in a major conflict breaking out by the middle of the year.
We've cruised beyond that point and are just facing the final quarter of 2025 now, but they claimed: "We will see horrific acts of human evil and violence toward each other in the name of religion and nationalism."
That has been happening in 2025, though how much someone deserves credit for predicting what humans have been doing for centuries, at the very least is really up to you.