Dates such as 11/11/11, are happening more often since the start of the new millennium.
The hype for these special dates is building across popular culture, with films and stories being made about the end of the world and news reports about expectant parents eagerly waiting for their children to be born on these dates.
But is there a special meaning behind these unique dates? Or is it just pure math?
November 11, 2011, also written as 11.11.11 and 11/11/11.
Significance of 11/11/11
Based on past calendar dates such as 10/10/10, or October 10, 2010, no significant or unusual phenomenon occurs simply because of a date that has the same numbers in a sequence.
The numerical sequence of November 11 holds a special significance in the binary numeral system, which is the base-2 number system that represents numeric values using two symbols, 0 and 1. The date of November 11 has a binary number of 111110 where it has a decimal equivalent of 62 in the year 2010, and a binary number of 111111 with a decimal equivalent of 63 in the year 2011.
The number eleven has a special characteristic in mathematics where it is a prime number. It contains some interesting peculiarities where the number eleven times itself equals a palindrome:
- (2 digits) 11 x 11 = 121 (6 digits) 111111 x 111111 = 12345654321 (9 digits) 111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321
11111 days old on 11/11/11?
Some people born on certain dates will also be a 111...-something old today:| Age old on 11/11/11 | when born on this date |
|---|---|
| 11 years | Saturday, 11 November 2000 |
| 111 months | Sunday, 11 August 2002 |
| 1,111 weeks | Friday, 27 July 1990 |
| 1,111 days | Sunday, 26 October 2008 |
| 11,111 days | Wednesday, 10 June 1981 |
| 111,111 hours | Tuesday, 9 March 1999 |
| 11,111,111 minutes | Tuesday, 25 September 1990 |
| 1,111,111,111 seconds | Wednesday, 25 August 1976 |
Special days observed on 11/11/11
Various events occur in different parts of the world on November 11. These events include:
- Veterans Day in the United States.
- Remembrance Day in Australia.
- Remembrance Day in Canada.
Many Americans, Canadians and Australians have a moment of silence at 11am (11:00) local time on November 11 each year to honor soldiers who fought for their country.
Dates such as 11/11/11 are also popular for weddings, product or service launches, and other planned events as the date is easy to remember.