Wow. We were probably all so busy taking in the Inaugural Day events and performances that we didn’t even notice that the date (1-20-21) was a five-digit palindrome. (A palindrome is a set of numbers or letters that read the same forward and backward). In fact January 2021 has one four-digit palindrome (1-2-21), two six-digit palindromes, and a total of nineteen five-digit palindromes. Amazingly the YEAR 2021 will have a total of 22 palindrome dates.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac (one of my Dad’s favorite reference books) this was the first time a palindrome date fell on American Inauguration Day in history. Reportedly it won’t come around again for one thousand years (on 1-20-3021).
Palindromes are not limited to numbers. There are palindrome names (for example Asa, Anna, Eve, Bob), words (i.e.: madam, kayak) places, and phrases (A great bargain: A nut for a jar of tuna.) Reportedly the longest known one-word palindrome — spelled the same forward or backward– is the Finnish word for soap-seller: Saippuakauppias. Palindromes can be in any language. An example of a French palindrome: “Elu par cette crapule” (Elected by this villain).
Palindromes are not easily crafted. A man by the name of Barry Duncan of Massachusetts, calls himself a Master Palindromist, having been obsessed with them since childhood. Feel like you want to get palindrome creative? Use Will Peavy’s Palindrome Checker to see if you hit a home run.
For more information on palindromes see WIKIPEDIA: PALINDROME
How clever of you to begin the post with a palindrome. Wow.
Cathy, thanks for noticing. I do have my tongue-in-cheek moments 😀
This post made me smile. Thanks, Janice.