Palindrome Day: 01-02-2010 and the Next Palindrome Dates

A palindrome day is a date that reads the same forwards and backwards when written as numbers, like 01-02-2010. On 1 February 2010 we celebrated one of these rare dates. This article explains why palindrome dates depend on how you write the date, lists recent ones, and shows when the next palindrome day arrives.

Quick answer: A palindrome day is a date whose digits read the same in both directions. Because countries write dates in different orders, the same day can be a palindrome in one format but not another. The next eight-digit palindrome dates are 03-02-2030 in the day-month-year format (3 February 2030) and 03-02-2030 in the month-day-year format (2 March 2030).

What is a palindrome day?

A palindrome is a word, phrase or number that reads the same forwards and backwards, such as “level” or 12321. A palindrome day applies the same idea to a date written as eight digits. For example, 1 February 2010 written as DD-MM-YYYY is 01-02-2010, and the digits 01022010 read the same in reverse.

Why 2010 had two palindrome days with the same digits

Different countries use different date formats (external site). In the United States, 2 January 2010 is written MM-DD-YYYY as 01-02-2010. In India, the UK and much of the world, 1 February 2010 is written DD-MM-YYYY as 01-02-2010. So the same digits 01022010 gave us a palindrome day twice in a few weeks.

At the time, Aziz Inan, a professor at the University of Portland who studies these dates, pointed out that the previous MM-DD-YYYY palindrome was 10-02-2001 (2 October 2001), and that the next one would be 11-02-2011 (2 November 2011).

Short six-digit formats create even more. The video blog Rocketboom spotted 01-11-10, which works as a palindrome in DD-MM-YY for 1 November 2010 and in MM-DD-YY for 11 January 2010. You can still watch their Palindrome Day video (external site) on YouTube.

Recent and upcoming palindrome day dates

Here are the eight-digit palindrome dates from 2010 onwards (checked by computing every date):

• 2 January 2010: 01-02-2010 (MM-DD-YYYY)
• 1 February 2010: 01-02-2010 (DD-MM-YYYY)
• 11 February 2011: 11-02-2011 (DD-MM-YYYY)
• 2 November 2011: 11-02-2011 (MM-DD-YYYY)
• 21 February 2012: 21-02-2012 (DD-MM-YYYY)
• 2 February 2020: 02-02-2020, a palindrome in every common format, including YYYY-MM-DD as 20200202
• 12 February 2021: 12-02-2021 (DD-MM-YYYY)
• 2 December 2021: 12-02-2021 (MM-DD-YYYY)
• 22 February 2022: 22-02-2022 (DD-MM-YYYY), also nicknamed “Twosday” because it fell on a Tuesday
• 3 February 2030: 03-02-2030 (DD-MM-YYYY), the next one
• 2 March 2030: 03-02-2030 (MM-DD-YYYY)

Why there are none between 2022 and 2030

For a year from 2023 to 2029, written as 202X, the first two digits of the date must be the reverse of the year’s last two digits, X2. That gives 32, 42 and so on up to 92, which is never a valid day or month. The next year that works is 2030, where the reverse is 03-02.

Other fun number dates

Computer people celebrate number milestones too. On 13 February 2009 the Unix clock reached 1234567890 seconds, which we covered in Unix time 1234567890 day.

FAQ

When is the next palindrome day?

The next eight-digit palindrome day is 3 February 2030 (03-02-2030 in day-month-year), followed by 2 March 2030 (03-02-2030 in month-day-year).

Was 2 February 2020 special?

Yes. 02-02-2020 reads the same backwards in day-month-year, month-day-year and year-month-day formats, which is very rare.

Why do palindrome days depend on the country?

Because the US writes month first and most other countries write day first, so the same date has different digits.

Is 22-02-2022 a palindrome?

Yes, in the day-month-year format the digits 22022022 read the same both ways.

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