Today is 29th Feb, 2012, a leap day. I wanted to publish a post on this day as i will get this opportunity four years later.
Since this is a special day i would share some interesting facts about a leap year.
- Earth takes 365.242199 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds ( 365 days and 6 hours approx) – to circle once around the Sun. Since it is difficult to adjust these 6 hours every year, an extra day was added every four years.
- If this extra day is not added then our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days after only 100 years!
- Since February is the shortest month, this extra day is added in February.
- The year this extra day is added is known as a leap year and the extra day is known as leap day. All other years are called common years.
- A leap year is divisible by 4 or divisible by both 100 and 400.
- This Boolean expression i found on Wikipedia
is_leap_year = ( year modulo 4 is 0 ) and ( ( year modulo 100 is not 0 ) or ( year modulo 400 is 0 ) )
- The chance of being born on a leap day is often said to be one in 1,461. Four years is 1,460 days and adding one for the leap year you have 1,461. So, odds of 1/1,461. Babies born on 29 February are known as “leapers” or “leaplings”.
- The leap is one of those days when a woman could propose and the man could not reject her. 😀 Funny right ! He would have to pay huge fine if he refused.
- In Greece it is considered unlucky to marry on Leap Day, and even during a leap year.
- In Scotland, it used to be considered unlucky for someone to be born on Leap Day.
Sources – Various