Today, Sunday 02/02/2020, is a unique palindrome that hasn’t happened in over 900 years.
It has the distinction reading the same backward and forward in multiple date formats. So whether you write out the date “Month/Day/Year” or “Day/Month/Year,” this eight-digit palindrome still works.
The last time such a date ocurred was 11/11/1111.
This “ubiquitous palindrome” won’t happen again for another 101 years, with the next date being 12/12/2121.
“We are so lucky to have such a special palindrome date occurring in our lifetime because it’s so rare,” University of Portland professor Aziz Inan told USA TODAY.
It is difficult to find an eight-digit palindrome, and then even rarer to find one that is as international as this one.
“In this century, in the American date system — which is month, day, year — there are 12 eight-digit palindrome dates,” Inan said.
Inan has been “collecting” palindromes which he has chronicled on his website. He currently has 500 palindromes of all kinds starting in the 19th Century all the way to the 23rd.
Image: Pixabay