Have you ever tried to read words backwards? I tried it once when I was a kid. My name was Ilek. My cat’s name backwards was Niffum, and my favorite food was etalocohc. He was going around saying words that no one else understood. It was like speaking my own language.

But then I came across some very surprising words that stayed the same when I read them backwards. “Daddy” stayed daddy and “mommy” stayed mommy, and even my friend Hannah stayed the same! I didn’t know it then, but I had discovered the cool world of palindromes.

What is a palindrome?

Palindromes stay the same when you read them forwards or backwards. They can be words:

eye

pop

Radar

They can be phrases or sentences:

never even or odd

don’t nod

Was that a cat I saw?

Do geese see God?

They can be numbers:

505

62326

12:21

And some palindromes are even the same forwards, backwards, backwards, and backwards:

108801

call for help

MIDDAY

palindrome magic trick

Here’s a trick you can do to turn almost any number into a palindrome. First, think of a number and write it down:

3241

Then, write that number backwards and add the two:

3241

+ 1423

4664

In some cases, it doesn’t work the first time. When that happens, keep reversing and adding numbers until you get your palindrome:

4972

+ 2794

7766

+6677

14443

+34441

48884

Are you a palindromaniac?

Warning: palindromes can be addictive! Some people start looking for them everywhere and can go a little crazy searching for palindromes.

You may be at risk of being a palindromaniac if:

• You have friends named Ana, Eve, Izzi, Otto or Bob.
• Your favorite times of the day are 10:01, 11:11, 5:55, etc.
• You love kayaking and have always wanted to drive a race car.
• Your favorite car is a Toyota.

Know more

Fill your palindromania with these books and resources:

for young children: Mom and dad are palindromesby Mark Shulman and Adam McCauley, gold If you were a palindrome, by Michael Dahl. These two fun picture books are a great introduction to the world of palindromes for children.

For older children and adults: Jon Agee is the king of palindrome books as Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna pigY palindromania. Cartoony line art meets quirky captions for a little fun.