This February 2 is a most-glorious, super rare palindrome day

Not only is it Groundhog Day and Super Bowl Sunday, but it's also an extra-special 8-digit palindrome day.

Some of you may be excited to see what a giant rodent prognosticates for spring, others may be excited to see which team gets a football to where it is supposed to go the most times. But for us number, pattern, and date nerds, this Sunday is all about the magical symmetry of palindromes!

February and 2020 are a match made in heaven for anyone afflicted with ailihphilia – yes, that is the term for a love of palindromes, and yes, it is itself a palindrome.

But regardless of the rest of the month's palindrome potential, there is Sunday and she's a beauty:

Sigh.

What makes this palindrome day so rare is that it works globally – as in, for Americans who write month/day/year, as well as for other places that write day/month/year. It works for year/month/day. A universal palindrome like this will be the only one this century!

The last eight-digit palindrome like this was 11/11/1111, 909 years ago. The next one is closer; just 101 years away, on 12/12/2121. After that, it will be a long haul to 03/03/3030.

And just to add a little extra icing to the cake, palindrome collector Aziz Inan points out, Sunday is also the 33rd day of the year, which is followed by 333 more days, thanks to 2020 being a leap year. The ailihphilia is strong with this day! Swoon.