Read ’em and leap..
IF the date made you do a double take, it’s because the last time you saw it on a calendar was back in 2020.
It only happens every four years, in what’s known as a leap year. By why or how they occur? Here are some fun facts about the unusual 366th day of the year.
The earth takes 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds to circle the sun. Having an extra day in February – on the 29th – every four years ensures we don’t lose six hours every year. After a century, our calendar would be off by about 24 days, so leap years keep the calendar lined up with the Earth’s actual orbit.
Julius Caesar introduced the first calendar leap year in 46 BC. He borrowed the idea from the Egyptians, but overestimated the solar year by around 11 minutes, leading to an overcorrection of eight days each Millennium.
Not every single four years are a leap year.
If the year is divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400, the leap year is skipped. The year 2000 was a leap year, for example, but the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not. The next time a leap year will be skipped is the year 2100.
WORKING
Fun facts about day which arrives once every 4yrs
You might be working for free. February 29 is not really a legal day, so lots of people – especially those on a monthly salary – end up not getting paid.
Most employees who are paid monthly incomes will work for free as their wages are likely not calculated to include the extra day.
Hourly employees should be paid as per usual. Salaried employees who are paid on a weekly or bi-weekly basis also get paid as usual for the extra day.
On the plus side, you’ll gain it back through not being charged extra for monthly payments like rent, streaming services or insurance.
If you’re born on February 29, you are a “leaper”, “leapling” or “leap day baby”.
About five million people worldwide share a Leap Day birthday.
These include Dublin sisters Robyn Mckeon and her sister Lana from Blanchardstown, who share a birthday, four years apart. Robyn is celebrating her 16th birthday, which is her “fourth”, with her sister Lana is celebrating her 20th birthday, which is her “fifth”. They were born in the leap years 2004 and 2008.
Famous “leapers” include US guru Tony Robbins, who was born in 1960 and rapper Ja Rule. He was born on February 29, 1976. Foster
The People singer Mark Foster is 40 today, and legendary singer Dinah Shore was born on this day in 1916. The chances of having a birthday on February 29 are estimated to be 1 in 1,461.
Leap Day is best known for the tradition of it as a day where women propose to men.
It may sound outdated, but that’s how it worked in many cultures for centuries.
According to a survey by Glamour magazine, around 70% of men would welcome their female partner proposing marriage.
Since 1988, the town of Anthony on the Texas-new Mexico border throws a festival every leap year for people born on February 29.
People from across the US travel to the small town for hot air balloon rides, BBQS and parades.
Not every country has a leap year day. In China, where the calendar is lunisolar –combining the effects of the sun and the moon – a leap year has an extra month. It’s called an intercalary month – often referred to as an “embolismic month” after the Greek word for it. In the Chinese calendar, the leap month is added according to a month that contains the northern winter solstice.
Some cultures consider February 29 an unlucky day. In Italy, people say: “Anno bisesto, anno funesto,” which translates as, “leap year, doom year.” In some countries, like Greece, people warn against planning weddings during leap year.
The date February 30 has been acknowledged at least twice – by Sweden and the Soviet Union.
The Swedes added the date in 1712 following an earlier calendar error and the Soviet Union observed it in 1930 and 1931 after they introduced a revolutionary calendar in 1929. It was part of plan for 30-day months in a drive to increase work efficiency.
Key events on February 29 include the first warrants being issued to women accused of witchcraft in Salem in 1692 and an earthquake in Agadir, Morocco, in 1960 wiped out a third of the city’s population.
Today also marks international Rare Disease Day.