Palindromes

Was it a car or a cat I saw? Eva, can I see bees in a cave? A nut for a jar of tuna?

How many palindromes can you find in this image?

In case you're wondering, no, I haven't gone mad.* I'm simply talking in palindromes!

* Legal disclaimer: Actual sanity may differ from that claimed.

That's because this week the Charles Fudgemuffin blog features a selection of palindromic jokes and palindrome themed facts.

1) My uncomfortable friend just got a PhD on the history of palindromes.

Now we call him Dr. Awkward.




2) For UK readers, February 3rd, 2030 will be a palindromic date (03 02 2030). For US readers, you'll have to wait for June 2nd, 2060 (06 02 2060).

Nothing, pictured yesterday.

3) Not many people know this, but the word 'nothing' is a palindrome.

Because nothing spelled backwards is 'gnihton' which also means nothing.




4) The Finnish word for soapstone vender is saippuakivikauppias, which is claimed to be the longest palindrome in everyday use.

Editor's note: "Everyday use? Charles, are you sure? I know I certainly don't encounter Finnish soapstone venders every day!"
Charles: "Okay, then. Maybe not every day use. Occasional use."
Editor: "I don't even encounter Finnish soapstone venders occasionally! I've never met one before in my life!"




5) Child: "Dad, can you help me with my homework? I need to give an example of a palindrome."
Dad: "Mom."
Child: "Okay, mom, can you give me an example of a palindrome?"
Mom: "Dad."
Child: "Stop passing the buck! I don't care who, but just one of you please help me!"




6) A 'semordnilap'* is a word that forms a different word when spelled backwards. For example, flow/wolf, desserts/stressed and spins/snips.

* Palindrome spelled backwards.

Bank balance.

7) My bank balance is a palindrome.*

£0.00.

* Legal disclaimer: It's not really. That was just a fictitious claim for the purposes of the joke.




8) If you take any two digit number, reverse its digits, then add the reversed number to the original number, then if you repeat the process enough times you will eventually arrive at a palindromic number.

For example: 58

58 + 85 = 143
143 + 341 = 484

"A nut for a jar of tuna?"

9) Doctor: "The bad news is that you have a disease that makes you speak in palindromes."
Patient: "Wow!"
Doctor: "The good news is that it's not serious."
Patient: "Yay!"
Doctor: "The other bad news is that you've just given it to me."
Patient: "I did, did I?"
Doctor: "A nut for a jar of tuna."
Patient: "That doesn't make sense."
Doctor: "You're cured! It's a miracle! And so am I!"




10) The word palindrome is derived from the Greek word 'palin' meaning 'back', and 'dromos' meaning 'direction'. So a palindrome is a back direction word!

- - - - - - - - - -

The palindromes found in the top image were as follows:

1) Kanakanak (a neighbourhood in Alaska)
2) kayak
3) racecar
4) dad
5) mom
6) rotor (carried by the mom)
7) radar

As I'm feeling especially generous, you could also have eye!

Admittedly, the image was very small, which made identifying some of the palindromes quite tricky, so if you managed to get five or more then I'd say that was a pretty decent effort.

If you'd like to find more blog posts on palindromes, then bad news! This is my first one, so there aren't any more. However, for anyone who is more flexible with their blog post tastes, I am able to recommend blog posts on paradoxes and tautologies:
Paradoxes
Silly tautologies