JEDDAH, 20 February — A new dimension is available to one of our yesterday’s sidelights. It’s about tonight that will see a moment in time, which will not happen again for more than a century. At precisely two minutes past eight at night, history will record an extraordinary palindromic date — 20.02.20.02.2002 — which reads exactly the same backward as it does forward. The next time such a palindromic date and time occurs will be at 12 minutes past nine on the night of Dec. 21, 2112 — 21.12.21.12.2112. Palindrome Society Director Matthew Richards is quoted to have said in a report from London: “Words, phrases or numbers that read the same in both directions — are things of beauty and good luck. Today is a very auspicious day.” Today also marks the first day of the six-day Haj. The unusual date and time today is longer than the longest palindromic word in the English language – deified. The longest palindromic word in any language is the Finnish word saippukuppias, which means a man who sells soap.