KATHMANDU: Today (Sunday) is unique as it has a palindrome date, the first in over 900 years, according to the Washington Post. February 2, 2020, or 02/02/2020 reads the same backward or forward regardless of the date format — “Month/Day/Year” or “Day/Month/Year”, as seen in many countries.
Palindrome refers to a number or a segment that reads the same forwards as it does backward. The previous eight-digit palindrome was 11/11/1111, 909 years ago and the next palindrome date in will happen on 12/12/2121, after 101 years.
While various forms of palindrome dates are fairly common, 02/02/2020 has the unique distinction of reading the same backward and forward when written out in eight digits in multiple data systems, according to the University of Portland professor Aziz Inan.
Professor of electrical engineering at the University of Portland, Aziz Inan, told The Washington Post that there are only 12 eight-digit palindromes this century. He also pointed out that this Sunday is the 33rd day of the year with 333 more days to follow as February has an extra day this year.
But even more rare, according to Inan, is that Sunday’s date is an international palindrome: It works whether you write the date as “Month/Day/Year” or “Day/Month/Year,” as many countries do.
In addition to the rare palindrome date phenomena, it is also Groundhog Day in Canada and America. The day is part of a long-standing tradition in which a groundhog is used to determine how many more weeks of winter there will be.
(with inputs from Agencies)
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