Community Corner

It's 12-12-12: The Last Sequential Day, Month, Year in Our Lifetime

Math professionals are excited about the superstitious day said to spur weddings, lottery play and mass meditations.

It's Dec. 12, 2012 also know as 12/12/12, or 12-12-12 depending on whether you prefer backslashes or dashes. 

It's the last time we will experience a sequential day, month, and year combination in our lifetimes. The next time will be 10/10/10 in 2110.

Mathematics and superstition

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The number 12-12 is one of the combinations that can bring good luck and fortune in China, according to the Bangkok Post. Dec. 12 stands for love so there will be a lot of weddings and scheduled births. A greater urgency to have children was felt on 11-11-11 (eternal love) and 10-10-10 (perfection).

Fans of the number 12, also known as "dozenalists," say the real time to celebrate is 2016 because they are counting in base 12, also known as the duodecimal, according to Wikipedia. The number twelve, a highly composite number, is the smallest number with four non-trivial factors (2, 3, 4, 6). As a result of this increased factorability and its divisibility, it is sometimes considered the most optimal number system.

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Events in honor of the day

The alliteration date is spurring special events as a World Day of Connectedness, including ceremonies marking a new time of life based on loves at Lake Titicaca in Peru.

There will be networking events with the theme of "Entrepreneurship and Technology" in Lisbon, Portugal.

A day of "Vigil" is planned in Vancouver; and an "All you need is Love" concert will be held in Amsterdam.

In San Francisco, the big event marking 12-12-12 (I prefer dashes) will be a gathering of yogis, poets and mystics at Union Square.

Let's get married

Many will commemorate the day by tying the knot. It is an easy way to remember your anniversary date.

In Los Angeles, Calif. the county clerk's office is expanding hours and allowed people to apply online for licenses ahead of time.

In Seattle, Wash. many same-sex couples opted for 12-9-12, the first chance they were legally allowed to get hitched, but others decided to hold out until 12-12-12.

In Fort Myers Beach, Fla., you can get married at 12:12 on 12-12-12 in package deal. For $500, you get a marriage license, wedding ceremony and entrance to a day of festivities.

Sandy relief

The big event is the concert for Sandy Relief to benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund. Chase is presenting the concert in New York Madison Square Garden, but billions can stream it.

The music industry will come together through several live streams and social media integrations that will allow the charity concert to reach homes worldwide.

It's safe to say it may be the most widely distributed music event in history.

Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Roger Waters, Kanye West, Eddie Vedder, The Who and Paul McCartney will perform at the one-night concert at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

People will have access to the concert through 34 TV broadcasts across the globe, plus being streamed on nearly 30 websites, including YouTube, MTV.com, Hulu and Myspace. Several movie theaters in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will screen the concert as well.


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