Square Root April Fool’s Day

Electrical engineer Aziz Inan, of the University of Portland, recently noticed that April 1st, 2009 is a square root date. From USA Today:

April Fool's Day, April 1, 2009 is 04/01/2009, or 4012009, which has 2003 as a square root (2003 * 2003 = 4012009.)...
The next April Fool's square date doesn't fall until April 1, 6016 (2004*2004 = 4016016.)

Of course, this is of no significance whatsoever. Or is it???

April Fools Day

Posted on Tue Mar 31, 2009


Comments

Beg to differ on the claim that the next one doesn't fall until 6016. Just checking quickly, I found March 31, 2400
(3312400 = 1820*1820)
Posted by James  on  Tue Mar 31, 2009  at  06:19 PM
Oops, just re-read. Yeah, the next April Fool's square root date. Whoops.
Posted by James  on  Tue Mar 31, 2009  at  06:21 PM
J
On March 31, 2400, I'll be celebrating my 441st birthday, so I appreciate knowing it's a square root day.
Posted by Canadarm  on  Tue Mar 31, 2009  at  07:50 PM
It's only a square root date for the mm/dd/yyyy format, which is almost exclusively peculiar to the USA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_date shows an interesting overview of date formatting around the world, both on a map and by listed countries: the most common is dd/mm/yyyy, used by 106 countries; only six use mm/dd/yyyy!
Posted by Wendy Collings  on  Tue Mar 31, 2009  at  08:59 PM
it all depends on how you note the date.
In holland we note april-fools as:
01-04-2009
and then things don't seem to be a square root al all 😊
the root of 01042009 = 1020,7884207807218264635454180032
Posted by Paul  on  Wed Apr 01, 2009  at  02:22 AM
trivia, but cool trivia.



I like the idea of spraying fake snow on someone's windows over night--if they don't shoot you as a prowler


If you have to ask, you've been fooled.
Posted by Cyber Rainbow  on  Wed Apr 01, 2009  at  05:58 AM
If I had a square root, I'd see a doctor. Ba dum pum
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Wed Apr 01, 2009  at  07:26 AM
The next d/m/y square April Fool's is 1st-April-2441.
(01-04-2441 = 1042441 = 1021*1021)

The last was 400 AD.
(01-04-0400 = 1040400 = 1020*1020)
Posted by David B.  on  Wed Apr 01, 2009  at  09:42 AM
well, here we are... April Fool's Day, and the MOH is curiously devoid of the curiously devoid... Where they at? My House, with my wife, Morgan Fairchild, doing the horizontal Mambo, just like last year. Party on, Wayne, party on Garth. Not
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Wed Apr 01, 2009  at  10:01 AM
If you write this year as "09," this April 12 is a square date (though not a square April 1): April 12 is 04/12/09 or 41209, which is 203 x 203.

Thanks to my math-whiz brother for this observation.
Posted by Big Gary  on  Wed Apr 01, 2009  at  08:46 PM
In addition to the ordering issue, there is the zero place holder issue. 04012009 could also be written 412009 which doesn't work.

(I commonly use YYYYMMDD on archive filenames so they are easily sortable. This is the ISO 8601 standard for the truly geeky.)
Posted by Joe  on  Thu Apr 02, 2009  at  02:05 PM
heh heh you said "root"... ah heheh heh heh heh shuddup, Beavis, you square root
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Fri Apr 03, 2009  at  10:43 AM
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