AKIPRESS.COM - Maths geeks around the world celebrated a rare palindrome day, when the date - in this case 02/02/2020 - reads the same way back to front, BBC reports.

But while palindrome days come and go - 20/02/2002 is another example - this one is special.

Unlike the date in 2002, this one reads the same in the US, where dates are written as month-day-year instead of day-month-year as in much of the rest of the world.

It also works for China and a handful of other countries which put the year first.

The last time a palindrome like this happened was 11 November 1111.  In that year:

• Crusaders led by Baldwin I of Jerusalem were fighting the Turks in what is now northern Syria
• Henry I, fourth son of William the Conqueror, was king of England
• Afonso I, founder of the kingdom of Portugal, was born