A date to remember: 12-12-12

photo of students dressed as ancient Mayans in Guatemala.

Miraculous progress in efforts to enhance the human life-span cannot be ruled out, but it can be said with some certainty that most people who have been fortunate enough to see, over the past 12 years, 12 dates where all digits are the same (1 January 2001 or 1-1-1, 2 February 2002 or 2-2-2, and in the same progression, to 12 December 2012 or 12-12-12) will not be around to see the next, which will come after 88 years (1 January 2101). In the same vein, it is another 88 years and 39 days to 21 January 2101 (or 21-01-2101), the earliest date that can be represented as a four digit number repeated twice over (over the past 11 years, people have seen 11 such dates, from 20 January 2001 to 20 November 2011 or 20-11-2011, and they will see one more eight days from now, on 20 December 2012 or 20-12-2012).
Of course, it remains to be seen whether there is anyone around 88 years from now to register these dates because if the ancient Mayans are to be believed, then the world will end in nine days, on 21 December.