02.02.2020
The First Rule of Palindrome Club: Name no one, man.
The Second Rule of Palindrome Club: See above.
Anonymous (personal communication)
Today is February 2, 2020. Any idea what makes this day so special? Well, I just watched The Australian Open men’s final. Novak Djokovic won…again. It is just a matter of time before he and Raphael Nadal both pass Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam titles. Can you still be the GOAT if you are third on that list? I doubt it.
Today is also Groundhog Day. I hear that Phil is about 50% correct with his shadowy predictions. By the way, how do they tell if he really saw his shadow? Does The Old Farmer’s Almanac offer instructions or some kind of insight into groundhog vision?
In a few hours, I hear that the Super Bowl will be televised. I haven’t watched a football game since the Browns packed up and left Cleveland for Baltimore. For me, that was the end. Football no longer warrants any of my time or attention.
So, what is special about 02.02.2020? I am sure that you have already figured it out. That series of numbers form a palindrome. Notice that is doesn’t matter what order you put the day or month in, you still are golden. It is also a palindrome in ISO format.
Here are a few more interesting points about 02.02.2020. That day is the 33rd day of the year (a palindrome), and there are 333 (a palindrome) days left in the year. This particular confluence of circumstances will never happen again.
In a somewhat shocking and surprising (though totally predictable) turn of events, I am going to tell you something about mathematical palindromes that I find astonishing. If I told you that any positive integer can be written as the sum of three palindrome numbers, would you believe me? As incredible as it sounds, it is true.
Usually, I would go through the basics of the argument and then give a couple examples. I can’t do that this time, the paper this idea is based on contains 40 pages of dense mathematics. A number of algorithms are required to solve for any and every case. In total, everything is quite complicated. Instead, I suggest you click on this link.
On the website, you will find that all the math has been coded. Just type in any number you can think of and the special numbers that form it will appear.
I have just one final thought as I get ready to head to the gym. A person from Finland who deals in soap (a saippuakuppinippukauppias) has to be losing their mind today.
