A historic moment in time

     Believe it or not but 8:02 pm on February 20, 2002 was an historic moment in time. It was not marked by the chiming of any clocks or the ringing of bells, but at that precise time, on that specific date, something happened which had not occurred for 1,001 years and will never happen again. As the clock ticked over from 8:01 pm on Wednesday, February 20, time, for sixty seconds only, read in perfect symmetry 2002, 2002, 2002, or to be more precise - 20:02, 20/02, 2002. This historic event will never have the same poignancy as the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month which marks Armistice Day, but it was an event which had only ever happened once before, and is something which will never be repeated.
    The last occasion that time read in such a symmetrical pattern was long before the days of the digital watch and the 24-hour clock - at 10:01 am on January 10, 1001. And because the clock only goes up to 23:59, it is something that will never happen again.