Mr. Owl ate my metal worm

Linguistics are fun!

Answers.com presents: palindromes!

This part blows my mind:

The Latin palindrome “Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas” (roughly “The farmer by his labour keeps the wheels to the plough”) is remarkable for the fact that it reproduces itself also if one forms a word from the first letters, then the second letters and so forth. Hence it can also be arranged into a square which can be read either horizontally or vertically:

S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S

Isn’t that just too cool for words!?
Well, evidently not. *snicker*

Some of my other favorites, listed:

Able was I, ere I saw Elba. (the famous Napoleon’s Lament, source unknown)

I nam’d am devil Eros; a sore-livéd madman, I.

Name now one man’s sensuousness. Name now one man.

Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era? (Bill Bryson)

“Lewd did I live, & evil I did dwel.” (John Taylor, the Water Poet)

Reviled did I live, said I, as evil I did deliver.”

Aias sadas saia: “It rains white bread in the garden.” (Estonian)

“Esope reste ici et se repose”: “Aesop is resting here and relaxing” (French)

“Et la marine va, papa, venir à Malte”: “And the navy, father, is coming to Malta” (French)

Eh, ça va la vache?: “Hey, how you doing, cow ?” (French)

Rám német nem lel, elmentem én már: “The Germans won’t find me, I’m already gone.” (1943) (Hungarian)

È Dio, lo gnomo mongoloide?: Is the mongoloid gnome God? (Italian)

Sum summus mus. (“I am the mightiest mouse.”) (Latin)

God apa gavs galna anlag, svag apa dog: Meaning “Good monkey was given crazy genetic disposition, weak monkey died.” — note that all the spaces match, which is rare for longer palindromes. (Swedish)

anropa aporna!: Meaning “Call the monkeys!”. (Swedish)

Woo, Swedish monkey palindromes! Life rocks. 🙂