What The Guardian Got To Say About The Palindrome?

"Do geese see God?"

Today's date - 20.02.2002 - is a palindrome, meaning it reads the same backward as it does forwards. Mark Oliver discovers that the fun doesn't end there.

Mark Oliver
Wednesday February 20, 2002
The Guardian

Palindromic years occur normally only once in 110 years (as in 1661,1771). However, at the end of each millennium, the gap is only 11 years, instead of 110, so we had a palindromic year in 1991 and again in 2002 but there will not be another one until 2112. We are, though, the only generation between the Norman conquest and the year 3000 to experience two palindromic years within a normal lifetime. So if you're looking for a reason to party today, why not raise a glass and say (palindromically): "Lager, sir, is regal."

Most sources credit Sotades the Obscene of Maronea with inventing literary palindromes in Greek-ruled Egypt, way back in the 3rd century BC. Indeed, palindromes were once known as "Sotadic verses". But Sotades was probably feeling less of a smarty-pants when one of his verses insulted King Ptolemy II, who had him, wrapped in lead and thrown into the sea. Reports the King said: "Try reversing that one, pal," are unsubstantiated. Perhaps fortunately for our palindromists, English rude words are more resistant to reversal than their Greek equivalents. Although you may be impressed by, "sex at noon taxes". As a pastime you don't need much kit for creating palindromes, just writing
materials, and a mirror, if you want to get a bit professional.

The Palindromist magazine, based in Portland, Oregon, argues that "great palindromes are works of art, and their authors deserve all of the fame and ridicule they can get" and seeks to accredit the writers of known palindromes. Leigh Mercer was such a celebrated palindromist, perhaps most lauded for this 1914 classic: "A man, a plan, a canal Panama!" Dating further back is this cheeky little number by John Taylor from 1614: "Lewd did I live, & evil I did dwell." Or if you want to go all modern, check out: "Men, I'm Eminem." You would be surprised at the inventiveness of these palindrome types. One website features the premise for a short film with all the dialogue in palindromes. It's by a Mike Clelland of Driggs, adopts the road movie genre and is a pretty good effort even if the characters do say "wow" a lot.

On the subject of today's date, they are getting quite excited in Singapore, where "palindrome activists" are devoting the auspicious day to world harmony and peace and are urging people to hold a 2 minute's Peace Silence at 8.02pm (12.02 GMT).

Greta Georges, 20, was inspired by the date and moved by the events of September 11 to do something "to remind people not to take peace for granted". So her mother Sunflower Chong with her friend have set up a website called World Harmony Day and have lobbied the UN, several Prime Ministers, the mayor of New York and Irish singer Bono to help them spread the word. So far none have responded.

However, a Singapore shopping mall has agreed to host a World Harmony Day ceremony for the two women, who plan to give speeches, light candles and play John Lennon's Imagine around the mall's Fountain of Wealth, which is a tourist attraction in Singapore.

Alas though, for our friends in the US, today's date is 02.20.2002, so they are missing out on all the revelry. If palindromes are not clever-clever enough for you, then you could check out ambigrams, or "inversions", a word or words that can be read in more than one way or from more than a single vantage point, such as both right side up and upside down. The website, ambigram.com, has a gallery section with some of the more successful attempts at ambigrams (a pursuit often facilitated by using a stylised font). The examples include such words as noon and the trade name Oxo plus phrases such as No x in Nixon. "Pod" and "dip" come to mind, and "mew".

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