Whether rooted in fear or faith, the endtimes capture attention like nothing else can, as Harold Camping's failed prediction last week illustrated. Even if his third guess proves similarly uneventful on Oct. 21, there's always 2012 and the Mayan calendar to help entrepreneurs cash in.

Even the uncertain like to hedge their bets.

The best is going to the dogs. Eternal Earth-Bound Pets was masterminded by 62-year-old retired executive Bart Centre from New Hampshire. For $135 paid now by credit or debit card, the folks at Eternal Earth-Bound will, following the rapture, go fetch a Christian's pet left behind. Staffed by a national network of "committed atheists," the group thus guarantees they will still be here after Jesus returns. Additional pets are only $20 more. The money covers "transportation costs;" the contract includes a guarantee of adoption by an atheist animal-lover.

Business must be booming. The price increased by 22 percent since 2010 and the deal is only good for 10 years. No word on renewal if it hasn't happened by then and all sales are fittingly final.

The pet-loving nonbelievers sign affidavits committing to the adoption. The serious site includes a rather detailed contract for pet owners, a link to Paypal, and Biblical quote. The quote implies that atheists can be good people too; Centre's business donates monthly to food banks, according to his interview with Business Week last year.

The apocalypse brings other opportunities. Websites such as RaptureReady.com - and its companion radio station - attract more visitors now than at Rapture Ready's inception in 1995. A for-profit entity which boasts more than 200,000 visitors monthly, Rapture Ready will take your "donations" online. Oft-interviewed site owner Todd Strandberg claims he's not making any money, stating he didn't apply for nonprofit status because the IRS will see his postings as "political."

Two apocalyptic authors under the pseudonym of Levy didn't even bother to claim spiritual intent, although they include a fair amount of actual prophesy amid the satire. Blatantly titled, "How to Profit from the Coming Rapture," the book instructs the five billion-plus, ineligible majority on how to survive (and invest - think Eastern infrastructure) in a post-rapture world. "Get ahead when you're left behind," say writers Ellis Weaver (The New Yorker) and Barbara Davilman (National Lampoon).

The last major, and more serious, apocalyptic series of the '90s, "Left Behind," sold 65 million copies, proving books can still be big business.

Sorting the prophetic from the profitic may become an apocalyptic challenge.

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email sholehjo@hotmail.com