After an intense competition in Stamford, Connecticut last weekend, the world has a new palindrome champion. Sure, you may not have known that there was a World Palindrome Champion in the first place. Or that eight contestants fought for the title. Or that there’s another palindrome competition called the SymmyS where most of the contestants are regulars. And now that you know all of this, you might not care. But take note, Portland—not only is there such a contest and such a champion, but until this past weekend, that champion was one of our own, Portlander Mark Saltveit.
But first: What the hell is a palindrome? Simply put, it’s a word that’s spelled the same forward and backward, like the name Anna. Palindromes can also be phrases, like “Lisa Bonet ate no basil.” (Note: That Lisa Bonet one is credited not to Al Yankovic in his song “Bob,” but to Douglas Fink, who created it in 1991.)