MDBCs 05 May 2025

Square Root Day is celebrated on a day where the first two digits in the date are the square root of the last two digits. Only date formats that have the month and date first and the last two digits of the year last (mm/dd/yy, m/d/yy, dd/mm/yy or d/m/yy) can have Square Root Days.

Ron Gordon, a high school teacher in the State of California, United States is credited as the creator of this unofficial holiday. The first Square Root Day ever was celebrated on September 9, 1981 (09/09/81).

Opposite to Squaring

An important mathematical concept, the square root of a number (x) is another number (y) that, when multiplied by itself returns the first number (x). In other words, the square root of x is y, because y X y or y² is x.

To make it clearer, let's take an actual number example: the square root of 25 is 5, because when we multiply 5 by itself (5 X 5) or square it (5²), we get 25.

Rare Dates

Only 9 dates every century qualify to be a Square Root Day. The first day of the 21st century, January 1, 2001 (01/01/01) was a Square Root Day. Other past and future Square Root Days in this century are:

February 2, 2004 (02/02/04): 2 X 2 or 2² = 4
March 3, 2009 (03/03/09): 3 X 3 or 3² = 9
April 4, 2016 (04/04/16): 4 X 4 or 4² = 16
May 5, 2025 (05/05/25): 5 X 5 or 5² = 25
June 6, 2036 (06/06/36): 6 X 6 or 6² = 36
July 7, 2049 (07/07/49): 7 X 7 or 7² = 49
August 8, 2064 (08/08/64): 8 X 8 or 8² = 64
September 9, 2081 (09/09/81): 9 X 9 or 9² = 81

Other Mathematical Holidays

You don't have to wait for Square Root Day to celebrate a unique mathematical holiday. There are several other mathematical holidays throughout the year that honor mathematicians and their work. Some of these include Pythagorean Theorem Day, e-Day, Pi Day, Tau Day, Yellow Pig Day, Pi Approximation Day, and Fibonacci Day.

How to Celebrate?

Learn more about the real-life and mathematical applications of square root.
Eat square shaped food, made specifically from root vegetables the whole day. May we recommend square sweet potato fries, square potato gratin, and a square carrot cake.
Spend the day learning about other special date patterns. Use our Date Pattern Calculator to find out when's the next Sequential or Palindrome Day.

Did You Know...

...that the symbol for square root (√) is called the radix or the radical sign and was first used in print in 1525?

***

A little boy went to the library to check out a book titled Comprehensive Guide for Mothers.

"Is this for your mother?" the librarian asked.

"No," said the boy.

"So why are you checking it out?"

"Because I started collecting moths last week."

***

I have no respect for gangs today. They just drive by and shoot people. At least in the old days, like in West Side Story, the gangs used to dance with each other first.

***

"Are you all right?" my seatmate on the plane asked, after noticing tears roll down my cheeks.

"I'm flying my husband's ashes to Michigan for burial," I explained, "and it just struck me that this will be our last trip together."

"I know how you feel," she said.

"I had my horse for 20 years and just put him to sleep last week."

***

The burial service for the elderly woman climaxed with a massive clap of thunder, followed by a bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder. "Well," said her husband to the shaken pastor when it ended, "she's there."