By Jim Rhodes 

This is for people who, like me, get their kicks playing with numbers.

As I write this, the date is 11/1/11 (American style). Of course, if you subscribe to the convention of placing the day before the month, it’s 1/11/11. Either way, it’s a rare event – five identical digits in a row.

So here are your questions for the day:

• When is the next time there will be a date with five of the same digits in a row? 
• When is the last time it occurred?
• How many times will it happen in this century? 
• In this millennium?

Hint, there are surprisingly few.
Ten days from now, the date will be 11/11/11, either way you write it.

So how often does that happen – all six digits the same?