If you didn’t notice, we’re in a palindrome year, 2002. For those of you not quite up to snuff on palindromes, they are numbers, words, verses or lines that read the same forward or backward.
The words deed, level, civic, noon and radar are all palindromes. As is the sentence, Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog! (No, I didn’t make that up, it’s one of many traditional palindromes that have been hanging around for years.) Other classics you may have seen include A man, a plan, a canal: Panama! and Madam, I’m Adam! And among the newer bunch are, Lisa Bonet ate no basil. Who sits around dreaming up this stuff?
While researching palindromes, it dawned on me that I’ve had a personal palindromic experience for the past 28 years, since I’m married to a boy named Bob. Maybe I should have changed my name to Ava, Eve or possibly Otto? That way we would have the penultimate palindromic partnership.
Ever since the year flipped over to 2002, the discussion of palindromes has been at an all-time high. From newspaper articles to the reader board at the intersection of Highway 525 and Scott Road in Freeland, palindromes rule!
And the reason is impressive. According to Bill Hendrick of Cox News Service, we’re the first generation in 1,000 years to live in two palindromic calendar years: 1991 and 2002 (the next one is 2112). Hendrick goes on to explain that the last time that happened, Leif Erikson was rowing boats across the Atlantic in 999 and 1001 and the average life span was 35 (compared to 77 today).
Put that in your palindromic pip (okay, pipe) and smoke it!
Probably the most prolific palindromist is Mark Saltveit of Portland, Ore. He’s editor of The Palindromist Magazine that is published “irregularly” and contains articles, cartoons, puzzles and dozens of new, original palindromes each issue. I spoke with Saltveit about his palindromic profession, which he says started while growing up in dark and rainy Portland. “At age 9 I started obsessing about palindromes,” said Saltveit. He and his brother would try to write their own palindromes while on long, boring car trips with the family. Saltveit laughed when retelling the tale of the time the two brothers thought they hit the jackpot with “eat poop tea.” But on second reading, the rookie wordsmiths realized it wasn’t a true palindrome. But it generated plenty of tittering in the back seat.
Today, the 40-year-old magazine publisher works as a computer trainer and stand-up comedian, and has been producing a magazine since 1996. With a subscribership of around 200 people, Saltveit describes his readers as a “far flung but avid group of people.” If he had to profile them, he said, they’d fall into two groups: “goofy young college kids” and “people in their 50s.”
This year, Saltveit has branched out, producing a 2002 datebook (www.realchange.org/pal) titled, “A Man, A Plan … 2002.” The quirky calendar features 250 palindromes, including 100 of Saltveit’s own (he admits to having a knack for reading and writing backwards).
As for me, I’m palindrome free. After staring at a blank sheet of fake paper on my iMac screen for approximately 10 minutes, I realized I don’t have what it takes to be a professional palindromist. So I’ll leave you with a few samples from Saltveit’s calendar:
“Lapses? Order red roses, pal.” By Jim Beloff, for Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day.
“Stressed? No tips? Spit on desserts!” By filmmaker Thomas Comerford, for May 21, National Waitstaff Day.
“Men, I’m Eminem!” By Mark Saltviet, for June 6, rapper Eminem spends night in jail after brawl, 2000.
“Epic Ermas has a ham recipe.” By John Connett, for Jan. 24, Pork Queen and Princess are crowned today at Iowa Pork Congress in Clive.
SPEAKING OF HAM/SPAM/SCAM: Internet ScamBuster’s Top 10 Scams for 2001 have been announced, and here they are. You can read more about these scams at
www.scambusters.org.
10. Herbal Viagra (self-explanatory).
9. Internet Investigator (“Be the first kid on your block to know all the dirty secrets your neighbors are hiding!”).
8. Pump and Dump (starts with “Highly Confidential Information” and touts “advance
information” on specific stocks).
7. Credit scams (say they’ll help you establish or repair credit).
6. Auction Antics (buyer beware).
5. Chain Letters (they’re all hoaxes).
4. Viruses (very clever with deceptive subject lines, etc.).
3. Nigerian Fee scam (I receive this one
weekly).
2. Identity Theft (very serious problem).
1. World Trade Center scams (sad but true).
Sue Frause can be reached by e-mail at skfrause@whidbey.com.
