"Detective! Night Scoop" (ABC TV, Friday 11:17pm) is a popular variety show in which "detectives" tackle viewers' unusual requests and worries. On March 13th, detective Hiroshi Tamura investigated "words that sound the same even when played backwards." Film director Tsutsumi Yukihiko played the role of special director, with assistant director Takeyama Takanori and secretary Masuda Saori also appearing.
The request came from a 35-year-old man from Mie Prefecture. His hobby is recording his own voice and playing it backwards. He recently discovered a phrase that sounds exactly the same even when played backwards. I think this is the first time in the world that this has happened. Wouldn't you like to know?
The man recorded words on a smartphone app and played them backwards. The name of an insect, "Oenma tiger beetle," sounded exactly the same even when played backwards. He asked the app to find other palindromes, such as "tomato," but it didn't work.
However, when you read words that are palindromes in the Roman alphabet, such as "ASA" (morning) and "AKASAKA" (red hill), backwards, you get a similar impression. However, "Oenma Hanmyo" is not a Roman alphabet palindrome. So, when an authority on phonetic analysis came to help, he said, "Oenma Hanmyo could be a great discovery," and further added, "It may be an IPA palindrome." What is an IPA palindrome?
