It’s always great to show students the wonder of math and numbers in the real world. Today, February 2, 2020 is one of those opportunities to have fun with numbers. Not only is today Super Bowl Sunday and Groundhog Day, but it is also an eight-digit palindrome. A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same forward and backward – Anna, nurses run, or my daughter’s favorite book Taco Cat.
Today is 02/02/2020 or 02022020. It is symmetry at its finest. How rare is a global eight-digit palindrome? The last time it happened was 909 years ago – November 11, 1111 or 11/11/1111. The good news is you won’t have to wait another 909 years. There will be another in a mere 101 years on December 12, 2121… 12/12/2121.
But wait, the math fun isn’t done yet. Today is the 33 day of the year and there are 333 days left in 2020. Thank you leap year for that. With all this math fun, it’s like Christmas in February!