Palindromes

A Palindrome is a word, phrase or sequence which reads the same in both directions. Derived from the Greekpalíndromos, meaning running back again, a palindrome reads the same forward and backward, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers. There are many types of palindromes from many fields including math, language arts, history, music, poetry and biology.

Examples of words include: EYE, MOM, DAD, NOON, RACECAR, LEVEL, DEED, CIVIC, RADAR, KAYAK (more here)

Examples of phrases and sentences include: STRAW WARTS and NEVER ODD OR EVEN and MADAM I’M ADAM. (more here)

Examples of number palindromes include:

  • 535
  • 3773
  • 59695
  • 76067
  • 374473
  • 416614
  • 87966978
  • 246191642

The third palindrome date of the 21st century was Nov 2, 2011 or 11-02-2011. A calendar palindrome for this year was July 31, 2013, written as 31-7-13. We also had Pi Day, 3-14-13 and may other dates in March. (Note that calendar formats vary by country.) Can you think of ones for November and December of 2013? Post your answer on ourFacebook page. Learn more about calendar palindromes at these sites:

  1. Patterns of the calendar make for numerical fun
  2. Palindrome day: No turning this day around
  3. Palindrome Dates: 21st Century
  4. Palindrome date 01-2-10

BTW, palindrome days will vary depending on which country you live in, and how dates are written in that country (e.g. mm/dd/yyyy). What is your palindrome calendar? Tell us on Facebook!

Here is a clever palindrome puzzle from Danica Mckellar:

Clue: “What did the mathematician say when she was offered cake?”

Answer: “I prefer pi.”

Now check out my palindrome puzzles. The puzzles below pose questions, the answers to which are phrases with a math theme. Read all of them carefully to see how they work, including some hints we have provided. Then try the unanswered one on your own. Be sure to post your answers on Facebook.

# Clue Hint Answer
1 What did the right triangle trade with the hairdresser? Leg for a jar of gel
2 After getting an incorrect remainder, the math teacher asked her student to be a _____________ ? redivider
3 What kind of payment did the mathematician want from the accountant? net ten
4 What did Nat notice about my day at the beach? Nat saw I was tan.
5 What did the clock say to the racecar in second place? Now I won.
6 What did the apple pie want on its mean, median and mode? stats ala stats
# Clue Hint Answer
7 What was the weight of the car in metric units? It involves a negation not a ton
8 What did the teacher trade with the lab researcher? It involves praise and rodents Star for a jar of rats
9 What did Larry Daly say to the talking Einstein? Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Do not bob to nod.
10 What happened when the number 13 met the number 31? The prime went in reverse Prime saw I was emirp.
11 What happened when straw warts appeared to me? This one has a Halloween theme Straw warts saw I was straw warts.

Share your own palindromes on Facebook.