Fix an integer g≥ 2. A natural number n is called a palindrome in base g if its base g expansion reads the same forwards and backwards. Let s (n)=∑ d| n, d< n d be the sum-of-proper-divisors function. We show that for almost all (that is, asymptotically 100% of) natural numbers n, s (n) is not a palindrome in base g. We also show how to reach the same conclusion for several other commonly occurring arithmetic functions.