Showing posts with label coffee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coffee. Show all posts

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Daft Fad

I saw this book in a small bookshop in Apalachicola, Florida, and I liked it. I would like it for Christmas. I did not, however, put it on my list because, as much as I love coffee table books, I do not actually own a coffee table upon which to place it.

On to my actual topic: palindromes. Possibly my favorite part of any language, period. Even the name sounds promising. Below, a couple of my favorite things about them.
  1. פ ר ש נ ו
    ר ע ב ת ן
    ש ב ד ב ש
    נ ת ב ע ר
    ו נ ש ר ף

    Some palindromes can be put into word squares and read horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, like this Hebrew one.
  2. In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
    Which in latin means "We go wandering at night and are consumed by fire." Which is beautiful.
  3. Aibohphobia is a jocular palindromic word meaning fear of palindromes.
  4. Palindromic numbers are studied in recreational math. I wish I could study recreational math.
  5. Palindromic music exists.
  6. Infinite palindromes (no joke) exist in Russian.
  7. Palindromic DNA
  8. My all-time favorite English palindrome is "Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas."
Once I saw a movie named Palindromes. Unfortunately the maturity level of the movie was way above my head when I saw it, but I saw it anyway. My parents thought it was weird and didn't like it, but I still thought it had some legitimate ideas and artistic value.

There are oodles more of random facts about Palindromes that you can find on my favorite website, Wikipedia.

"There's a meat market down the street
The boys and girls watch each other eat
When they really just wanna watch each other
Sleep
...
And it's been a long time since before I've been touched
Now I'm getting touched all the time
And it's only a matter of whom
And it's only a matter of when
...
An addiction to hands and feet-
There's a meat market down the street
The boys and girls watch each other eat
When they really just wanna watch each other sleep."
- Dance Athem of the 80's
Regina Spektor