December 2021: 9 Consecutive Days of Palindromes

If you are familiar with the sentence “Madam, I’m Adam,” you might know what a palindrome is. A palindrome is a term for when a word or phrase is spelled the same way backward as it is forward. Some other examples of palindromes include level, kayak, civic, radar, solos, tenet; names like Mom, Dad, Bob, Otto, and Hannah, and sentences like, “Was it a bar or a bat I saw?” or “Too hot to hoot.” But some palindromes can be dates, like we have during some months in 2021.

Palindrome Dates In 2021

The year 2021 offers us a string of palindrome dates. Dr. Aziz Inan, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Portland, Oregon, has been studying palindrome dates for more than a decade, and says 2021 is special because it contains a total of 22 palindrome dates:

• One is a four-digit palindrome – which occurred on 1-2-21;
• Nineteen of them are five-digit palindromes – which occured in January and will continue in December, see dates below;
• Two are six-digit palindromes – which also occur in December, see dates below.

It Started With January 2021 – 10 Consecutive Days of Palindromes

Wednesday, January 20, 2021, marked the beginning of a 10-day palindrome stretch. For 10 consecutive days, we had five-digit palindrome dates, which are common usage in the US. These dates read the same forward as they do backward:

1-20-21
1-21-21
1-22-21
1-23-21
1-24-21
1-25-21
1-26-21
1-27-21
1-28-21
1-29-21

Note that January 20, 2021 is also a seven-digit palindrome date (1-20-2021).

Fun Fact: January 20, 2021, Inauguration Day—was first palindrome-number Inauguration Day in American history, and the next one is in 1,000 years, on 1-20-3021.

December 2021 – 9 Consecutive Days of Palindromes

After January, we’ll see the next set of consecutive palindrome dates in December. Beginning December 1, we’ll have 9 consecutive five-digit palindrome dates:

12-1-21
12-2-21
12-3-21
12-4-21
12-5-21
12-6-21
12-7-21
12-8-21
12-9-21

The dates of 12-11-21 and 12-22-21 are also palindromes in the six-digit format (mm-dd-yy), for a total of 22 for the year.

Note that December 2, 2021 is also an eight-digit palindrome date (12-02-2021).

“The only two years in a century that contain 22 palindrome dates are the ones ending with 11 and 21,” says Dr. Inan. “The year 2011 had 22, and in the next century, they will be found in 2111 and 2121.”

Palindrome Dates in the 21st Century

For those fascinated with palindrome dates, Dr. Inan has calculated the palindrome dates for the 21st century. There are 26 seven-digit dates, and 12 eight-digit dates (in bold):

1. October 2, 2001 (10022001) 2. January 2, 2010 (01022010) 3. January 10, 2011 (1102011) (First seven-digit palindrome date in the 21st century) 4. November 2, 2011 (11022011) 5. February 10, 2012 (2102012) 6. March 10, 2013 (3102013) 7. April 10, 2014 (4102014) 8. May 10, 2015 (5102015) 9. June 10, 2016 (6102016) 10. July 10, 2017 (7102017) 11. August 10, 2018 (8102018) 12. September 10, 2019 (9102019) 13. February 2, 2020 (02022020) 14. January 20, 2021 (1202021) 15. December 2, 2021 (12022021) 16. February 20, 2022 (2202022) 17. March 20, 2023 (3202023) 18. April 20, 2024 (4202024) 19. May 20, 2025 (5202025) 20. June 20, 2026 (6202026) 21. July 20, 2027 (7202027) 22. August 20, 2028 (8202028) 23. September 20, 2029 (9202029) 24. March 2, 2030 (03022030) 25. January 30, 2031 (1302031) 26. March 30, 2033 (3302033) 27. April 30, 2034 (4302034) 28. May 30, 2035 (5302035) 29. June 30, 2036 (6302036) 30. July 30, 2037 (7302037) 31. August 30, 2038 (8302038) 32. September 30, 2039 (9302039) (Last seven-digit palindrome date in the 21st century) 33. April 2, 2040 (04022040) 34. May 2, 2050 (05022050) 35. June 2, 2060 (06022060) 36. July 2, 2070 (07022070) 37. August 2, 2080 (08022080) 38. September 2, 2090 (09022090).

Are Palindrome Dates Lucky?

Some cultures believe palindrome dates to be lucky. Which is why many people choose these dates for wedding celebrations. It also looks attractive to have the unique pattern of numbers appear on an invitation that’s a lifetime keepsake; dates such as 02.02.2020 or 11/11/11 were very popular dates for nuptials!

Farmers' Almanac Staff

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