{"id":4902,"date":"2020-09-11T14:24:01","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T14:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/?p=4902"},"modified":"2024-04-20T15:59:49","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T15:59:49","slug":"fun-facts-70-palindrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/09\/11\/fun-facts-70-palindrome\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun Facts About English #70 &#8211; Palindromes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kinneybrothers.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"702\" height=\"702\" data-attachment-id=\"5544\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/09\/11\/fun-facts-70-palindrome\/070-1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/070-1.jpg?fit=1252%2C1252&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1252,1252\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Fun Facts About English 70 Kinney Brothers Publishing Blog\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/070-1.jpg?fit=702%2C702&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/070-1.jpg?resize=702%2C702&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Palindromes Kinney Brothers Publishing\" class=\"wp-image-5544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/070-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/070-1.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/070-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/070-1.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/070-1.jpg?w=1252&amp;ssl=1 1252w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A <em>palindrome<\/em> is a word, number, phrase, or other sequences of characters that reads the same backward as forward. Palindromes can be found in a wide range of fields including music, computational theory, and genomes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The word <em>palindrome<\/em> was introduced by Henry Peacham in 1638 and means &#8220;a running back.&#8221;  Today, palindromes are one focus in the recreational linguistics community that includes such luminaries as  <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/J._A._Lindon\" target=\"_blank\">J.A. Lindon<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dmitri_Borgmann\" target=\"_blank\">Dimitri Borgmann<\/a>, and <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/A._Ross_Eckler_Jr.\" target=\"_blank\">A. Ross Eckler, Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The video below is a trailer for <em>The Palindromists<\/em>, a documentary that follows the world&#8217;s greatest palindromists as they prepare for the 2017 World Palindrome Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"702\" height=\"395\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VFyJH_856bE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Simple, character-unit palindromes are many and include <em>civic<\/em>, <em>kayak<\/em>, <em>level<\/em>, <em>madam<\/em>, <em>racecar<\/em>, <em>radar<\/em>, <em>refer<\/em>, and <em>rotor<\/em>.  Some names are palindromes as well, such as <em>Anna<\/em>, <em>Ava<\/em>, <em>Bob<\/em>, <em>Eve<\/em>, <em>Hannah<\/em>, and <em>Otto<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are also word-unit palindromes in which the units of reversal are the words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>I did, did I?<\/li><li>She was, was she?<\/li><li>Fall leaves after leaves fall.<\/li><li>You know, I did little for you, for little did I know you.<\/li><li>You can cage a swallow, can&#8217;t you, but you can&#8217;t swallow a cage, can you?<\/li><li>Is it crazy how saying sentences backward creates backward sentences saying how crazy it is?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Well-known whole-phrase palindromes that ignore punctuation, capitalization, and spaces include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Nurses run.<\/li><li>Borrow or rob?<\/li><li>Dammit, I&#8217;m mad.<\/li><li>Do geese see God?<\/li><li>Never odd or even.<\/li><li>Was it a car or a cat I saw?<\/li><li>Murder for a jar of red rum.<\/li><li>A man, a plan, a canal &#8211; Panama.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples of whole-phrase palindromes that include the spaces are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Step on no pets.<\/li><li>Able was I ere I saw Elba.<\/li><li>Live on time, emit no evil.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"496\" data-attachment-id=\"4166\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/05\/29\/fun-facts-55-crossword-puzzes\/sator_square\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/sator_square.jpg?fit=500%2C496&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"500,496\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Fun Facts About English 55 Kinney Brothers Publishing Blog\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/sator_square.jpg?fit=500%2C496&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/sator_square.jpg?resize=500%2C496&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Sator Square\" class=\"wp-image-4166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/sator_square.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/sator_square.jpg?resize=300%2C298&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/sator_square.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/sator_square.jpg?resize=180%2C180&amp;ssl=1 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sator_Square\" target=\"_blank\">Sator Square<\/a><\/em> is the earliest datable 2D palindrome. It was found in the ruins of Pompeii at Herculaneum, a city buried in volcanic ash in 79 AD. It consists of the Latin sentence, &#8220;Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas&#8221; (Arepo, the sower, carefully guides the wheels). It&#8217;s remarkable in that it can be read four different ways: horizontally or vertically from either top left to bottom right or bottom right to top left. The meaning of the acrostic is debated but believed by some scholars to mean, &#8220;God controls the universe.&#8221; Throughout the medieval period, the Sator Square was commonly carved into amulets and worn to ward off disease and ill-fortune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you enjoyed this post, you might also be interested in the <a href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/05\/29\/fun-facts-55-crossword-puzzes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">history of crossword puzzles<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/03\/20\/fun-facts-49-portmanteau\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cleverness of portmanteaux<\/a>, or the <a href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2019\/11\/01\/fun-facts-29-ambigram\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">artistic beauty of ambigrams<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-background\">See the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/09\/04\/fun-facts-69-expletives\/\" target=\"_blank\">previous<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/09\/18\/fun-facts-71-juke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">next<\/a> <strong>Fun Facts About English<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Store\/Donalds-English-Classroom\/Category\/ESL-Readings-Exercises-12597\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/HEADER_GIF.gif?w=702&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Donald's English Classroom\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Store\/Donalds-English-Classroom\/Category\/ESL-Readings-Exercises-12597\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stories For Young Readers<\/a> lesson packs are available as pdf and paperless files.  Each lesson pack includes worksheets, audio files, and answer keys. Purchase individually or save with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/ESL-Readings-and-Exercises-Book-1-Bundle-3403452\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">full bundle<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequences of characters that reads the same backward as forward. Palindromes can be found in a wide range of fields including music, computational theory, and genomes. The word palindrome was introduced by Henry Peacham in 1638 and means &#8220;a running back.&#8221; Today, palindromes are one focus [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[94],"tags":[20,11,951,954,948,949,946,947,953,950,952],"class_list":{"0":"post-4902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fun-facts-about-english","8":"tag-donalds-english-classroom","9":"tag-kinney-brothers-publishing","10":"tag-linguistic-puzzles","11":"tag-number-palindromes","12":"tag-palindrome-examples","13":"tag-palindrome-origins","14":"tag-palindromes","15":"tag-palindromists","16":"tag-sator-square","17":"tag-word-palindromes","18":"tag-world-palindrome-championship","19":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/070-1.jpg?fit=1252%2C1252&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8GlQB-1h4","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4902"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11001,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4902\/revisions\/11001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinneybrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}