Everyday is Once in a Century

How many times did you hear or read that yesterday December 12, 2012 was once in a century? Dozens, if not hundreds. At my large workplace, fully staffed and many working overtime for the holiday mail, the social and recreation committee gave out two prizes every hour at, you guessed it, 12 clicks past the hour. And, every time, it was said this is a "once is a century" day. Guess what? Today, December 13, 2012 is once is a century. Seriously, there are 12 dates every century where the month, day, and year have the same numerals. So, it seems to me that it would have been far more accurate to have said that "December 12 is twelfth is a decade."