We all know the famous palindrome 'A man, a plan, a canal: Panama'.

BUT DID YOU KNOW that the palindrome actually predates NOT ONLY the canal, but lead to the creation of Panama itself?

You see, until 1902, the country we've been raised to think of as 'panama' was known as 'Argunza'. Teddy Roosevelt insisted that a canal MUST be built at the Isthmus of Argunza, but support from the public was not strong. Palindromes being all the rage at the time, Roosevelt hired a team of linguists to make one for his planned 'Argunza Canal'. After several months, and millions of dollars in today's currency, the best they had come up with was 'Ed under argunsa? A snug rared nude!'.

Roosevelt immediately had them sent to his private game reserve in Montana, where he hunted them one by one for sport.

Though the hunting of The Most Dangerous Prey™ had renewed TR's vigor, he was still left with the problem of public support. In the early 20th century, most americans would be lucky to locate America on a map, assuming they could look up from their cotton gins a long enough to point with their broken, farmers fingers.
So, with the help of his cabinet, Roosevelt devised a plan: Rename the country to fit with a palindrome. No one knew were the hell Argunza was to begin with, so what was the harm? The locals were still using stone tools and chucking spears at each other. As far as I know.

And that was that. 10 years later, the canal was finished, thousands were dead (only a few dozen at Roosevelt's hands), and the world had a new nation: Panama.

hmm i find your ideas interesting and would like to subscribe to your newsletter

I didn't realize there was ever a point in history when palindromes were all the rage.

It was in that magical space between the Boxer Rebellion and the Russian Revolution.

Often overlooked by even the most respected historians.

My mistake.

Are there any more examples of palindromes from this time to demonstrate how they were all the rage?

The longest palindrome I know comes from a poster hanging in my 3rd grade classroom that discussed palindromes.

Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog.

Except the English (British/Australian) spelling is lasagne.

No, it never propagates if I set a gap or prevention

Bob
by Al Yankovic


Lyrics:

I, man, am regal - a German am I
Never odd or even
If I had a hi-fi
Madam, I'm Adam
Too hot to hoot
No lemons, no melon
Too bad I hid a boot
Lisa Bonet ate no basil
Warsaw was raw
Was it a car or a cat I saw?

Rise to vote, sir
Do geese see God?
"Do nine men interpret?" "Nine men," I nod
Rats live on no evil star
Won't lovers revolt now?
Race fast, safe car
Pa's a sap
Ma is as selfless as I am
May a moody baby doom a yam?

Ah, Satan sees Natasha
No devil lived on
Lonely Tylenol
Not a banana baton
No "x" in "Nixon"
O, stone, be not so
O Geronimo, no minor ego
"Naomi," I moan
"A Toyota's a Toyota"
A dog, a panic in a pagoda

Oh no! Don Ho!
Nurse, I spy gypsies - run!
Senile felines
Now I see bees I won
UFO tofu
We panic in a pew
Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo
God! A red nugget! A fat egg under a dog!
Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog

We've got loads of Canals over here and they all lead somewhere good: Britain. Unlike the Panama Canal which leads to the arse end of fucking nowhere.

The palindrome is a very underrated poetry tool.

This thread has opened my mind.

this thread is a sign of the apocalypse.

yeah, the panama canal doesnt do anything important, like cut international trade routes in half

Who needs the panama canal when you have global warming?

If I had a dollar for every time I'd been told my threads were signs of the apocalypse, I'd be a rich man indeed.

Meh, use a plane. Job done. Next!

father of koufax's name in palindrome form is URBAN RAT