#PalindromeDayThe World Celebrates Special Date: 02/02/2020

-

People gather on the eve of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PennsylvaniaImage copyrightEPA
Image captionThis palindrome day coincides with another key event - Groundhog Day in the US
Maths geeks around the world are celebrating a day so rare that - unless they're very, very young - it's certain to happen only once in their lifetimes.
This is, of course, palindrome day, when the date - in this case 02/02/2020 - reads the same way back to front.
But while palindrome days come and go - 20/02/2002 is another example - this one is special.
Unlike the date in 2002, this one reads the same in North America, where dates are written as month-day-year instead of day-month-year as in much of the rest of the world.
It also works for China and a handful of other countries which put the year first.
The last time a palindrome like this happened was 11 November 1111. (Which is really beside the point, because no-one was using Arabic numerals in North America then.)
In that year:
  • Crusaders led by Baldwin I of Jerusalem were fighting the Turks in what is now northern Syria
  • Henry I, fourth son of William the Conqueror, was king of England
  • Afonso I, founder of the kingdom of Portugal, was born
We don't have to wait quite so long for the next international palindrome day, though - it's 12 December 2121. Who knows? Some of us may even live to see it.
Those who are super-engaged with dates and numbers will have pointed out another anomaly.
Sunday 2 February is number 33 in days of the year - 33 being another palindrome. And as this is a leap year, it's also 333 days from the end of the year - a third palindrome.
Presentational white space
Meanwhile, many social media users have been pointing out that this palindrome day coincides with another major event in the North American calendar.
As the dawn came up over the US state of Pennsylvania, the world's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, predicted an early spring.
Presentational grey line

International palindrome dates:

  • 01/01/1010
  • 11/11/1111
  • 02/02/2020
  • 12/12/2121
  • 03/03/3030
  • 04/04/4040
  • 05/05/5050

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Imiegba And Children Of Pa Akubo Esuka Celebrate His Enthronement As Ódegbé

-
Image
  By Suleiman Ugbokhe Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka, the Ódegbé of Imiegba Imiegba Community, Three Ivie Clan in Etsako East local government area was in a celebration mode on Sunday, December 27, 2020, when the indigenes both home and abroad joined the children of Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka to celebrate his enthronement as the Ódegbé of Imiegba. Pa. Akubo Yakubu Esuka was born to the family of Mr. Esuka and Madam Ogenikho about 104 years ago in Imiegba. In his quest for a better life, he left his birth place, Imiegba, in 1944, with his maternal uncle, Pa Etsekhumhe Ogweli for Minna where he did manial jobs for some time before he left for Kaduna with a single mission: To join the army. But it turned out to be mission impossible as Pa Akubo was not accepted into the army "for reasons I don't know," he says. "I then proceeded to Kano from Kaduna with the hope of securing a job. I was still not able to get a job." As the saying goes, 'no place like home,' Pa Akubo had
Read more

Hon. Benedicta Ebuehi Felicitates With Gov Obaseki On Fifth Anniversary

-
Image
  By Suleiman Ugbokhe His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki, Executive Governor, Edo State The immediate past Executive Chairman of Etsako East local government area, Hon. (Princess) Benedicta Ebuehi has congratulated His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki on the occasion of his fifth anniversary as the Executive Governor of Edo state. In a statement personally signed by her and made available to newsmen, Hon. Ebuehi stated that ”It is heartwarming that your coming into office as Executive Governor of Edo state five years ago has transformed the state into a viable tier of government whose policies and programmes have continued to attract admiration and consultancy from your counterparts in other states of the federation." The erstwhile council boss noted that even in the choice of personnel to help drive the policies and programmes of the administration of the 'Heartbeat of the Nation,' Governor Godwin Obaseki has been meticulous, which has resulted in a peaceful, harmonious and seam
Read more

One Year After ... Hon. Princess Benedicta Ebuehi Remains The Toast Of Etsako East People

-
Image
By Suleiman Ugbokhe Hon. Princess Benedicta Ebuehi, Former Executive Chairman, Etsako East Local Government Area It is one year now since Hon. Princess Benedicta Ebuehi left office as the Executive Chairman of Etsako East local government area, a position she stepped into when the then helmsman, Aremiyau Momoh (Mbakwe), under whom she was the vice chairman, was removed from office by the state government two years into the three-year tenure. On assuming office as Executive Chairman, Princess Benedicta left no one in doubt that she was coming into office to serve the people of Etsako East local government area, and not to canonise, imperialise herself as was the case before her. One of the first things she did to demonstrate her people-oriented policy was the purchase and installation of a transformer at Awuyemi (Ward 5), to end years of darkness in that part of Okpella. It is very easy to gloss over this achievement but when the socioeconomic ripple effects of restoring power supply t
Read more