It’s happening again. 2012 is a leap year, which means there’s an extra day in February. But, do you know why? Keep reading for the history of leap year and some fun facts.
Leap years are essential for keeping our calendar in alignment with Earth’s revolutions around the sun. Each year there are 365.242 days, not just 365. This means that a leap year occurs every four years (on the years that are divisible by 4), so we don’t lose about six hours from our calendar every year. This may not seem like a lot, but over time it would add up.
If you’re born on Feb. 29, you are a leap year baby or a “leapling.” You are also believed to have unusual talents and personalities reflecting your special birthday. Though “leaplings” enjoy about 75 percent fewer birthdays than everyone else, they do get to celebrate their birthday one day earlier during non-leap years — and some people may be jealous of that.
Four centuries ago, in Ireland, there was a tradition that every leap year, women had the privilege of proposing marriage to men instead of men proposing to women. However, if a man said no, he owed the woman a silk gown and a kiss but only if she wore a red petticoat when she popped the question.
On Feb. 29, 1940, Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Oscar. On leap year 1952, “walk” and “don’t walk” signals were installed in New York City. On Leap Year 1964, in the midst of Beatlemania, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was in its fifth week at the #1 spot on the pop charts. In 1984, the Feb. 29 chart toppers were: “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson and “Jump” by Van Halen.
Tomorrow, 56 countries will observe Rare Disease Day, and international women’s football will have their annual kick-off for the Algarve Cup in southern Portugal.
At the end of the day, it’s just cool that every four years we have an extra day in February. And there’s no better way to describe leap year than with this traditional English mnemonic rhyme:
Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Save February – she alone
Hath eight days and a score
‘Til leap year gives her one day more
