Happy palindrome day! Once-in-a-lifetime Twosday Tuesday numbers line up to create 22.2.22 date that won’t come around for another 200 years
Although a full Twosday isn’t on the cards for another two centuries (2.22.2222), we’ve already seen a few patterns in our dates.
More than a decade ago we saw two Onesdays with 11.1.11 and 11.11.11.
This century there have been 11 other months with similar patterns, such as 02.02.02 and 12.12.12.
In 11 years we’ll be treated to Threesday (3.3.33) and Foursday another 11 years after that (4.4.44).
However, it will be for future generations to enjoy a full flush of twos on Twosday as the next one is centuries away.
Sadly for the people of the future though, that particularly special Twosday in the year 2222 will fall on a Friday.
That will be the last time there is a full line up of twos until February 22 22222, exactly 20,000 years later.
Of course there will be a 2.22.22 in 100 years’ time, but because the year will be 2100 it is not counted in the same way as it is with a zero, or 2022.
Aziz Inan, professor in electrical engineering at the University of Portland in Oregon, said he believed these unique dates had a ‘magical power in terms of getting people’s attention’.
His website lists 500 years’ worth of palindromes spanning from the 19th century to the 23rd century.
He told CNN: ‘I enjoy when I get somebody’s attention to this, especially some kid or college student, and it makes me feel happy that I did something good in the long term to tap into their curiosity.’
Meanwhile Morten Heedegaard, who created the website 22-2-22.com in 2019, said he tried to ask the United Nations to make the unique day a ‘day of self-celebration and self-care’.
He told the Washington Post: ‘I tried to make a tweet at one point, addressing the United Nations to make that date the day of self celebration and self-care. They didn’t respond.’
The unique dates have always been busy days in the US and on a previous palindrome date, on November 11, 2011, Las Vegas saw more than 3,500 couples get married.
Today, 222 couples are expected to get married in Sacramento, California, in a ceremony that starts at 2pm and conclude at precisely 2.22pm local time.
Elsewhere in Singapore 483 couples were registered to get married on February 22 as of January 24, according to the South China Morning Post.
In 2020, China asked couples to delay wedding ceremonies that fell on the palindrome date 02.02.2020.
Today excited Twitter user Peter Murphy took to the platform to ask a question about Twosday.
He said: ‘Would it be too wrong to wear a tutu to work’ to celebrate Twosday?’
One Twitter user shared that they had woken up specially to celebrate the rare numerically satisfying day.
Meanwhile, Google celebrated Twosday with an eruption of confetti and twos on searching for the word.