For legal purposes, their legal birthdays depend on how different laws count time intervals. In Taiwan, for example, the legal birthday of a leapling is 28 February in common years, so a Taiwanese leapling born on February 29, 1980 would have legally reached 18 years old on February 28, 1998.
“ If a period fixed by weeks, months, and years does not commence from the beginning of a week, month, or year, it ends with the ending of the day which proceeds the day of the last week, month, or year which corresponds to that on which it began to commence. But if there is no corresponding day in the last month, the period ends with the ending of the last day of the last month. ”
In some situations, March 1 is used as the birthday in a non-leap year since it then is the day just after February 28.
There are many instances in children's literature where a person's claim to be only a quarter of their actual age turns out to be based on counting their leap-year birthdays. A similar device is used in the plot of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance: As a child, Frederic was apprenticed to a band of pirates until the age of 21. Now, having passed his 21st year, he leaves the pirate band and falls in love. However, it turns out that the pirate indenture says that his apprenticeship does not end until his 21st birthday, and since he was born on February 29, that day will not arrive until he is in his eighties, and so he must leave his fiancée and return to the pirates. Of course, it all turns out happily in the end.
When did leap year originate?
The Gregorian calendar is closely based on the Julian calendar, which was introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC. The Julian calendar featured a 12-month, 365-day year, with an intercalary day inserted every fourth year at the end of February to make an average year of 365.25 days. But because the length of the solar year is actually 365.242216 days, the Julian year was too long by .0078 days (11 minutes 14 seconds).
This may not seem like a lot, but over the course of centuries it added up, until in the 16th century, the vernal equinox was falling around March 11 instead of March 21. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII adjusted the calendar by moving the date ahead by 11 days and by instituting the exception to the rule for leap years. This new rule, whereby a century year is a leap year only if divisible by 400, is the sole feature that distinguishes the Gregorian calendar from the Julian calendar.
Following the Gregorian reform, the average length of the year was 365.2425 days, an even closer approximation to the solar year. At this rate, it will take more than 3,000 years for the Gregorian calendar to gain one extra day in error.
DID YOU KNOW?
An individual's chance of being born on a leap day is about 1 in 1500.
When did leap year originate?
The Gregorian calendar is closely based on the Julian calendar, which was introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC. The Julian calendar featured a 12-month, 365-day year, with an intercalary day inserted every fourth year at the end of February to make an average year of 365.25 days. But because the length of the solar year is actually 365.242216 days, the Julian year was too long by .0078 days (11 minutes 14 seconds).
This may not seem like a lot, but over the course of centuries it added up, until in the 16th century, the vernal equinox was falling around March 11 instead of March 21. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII adjusted the calendar by moving the date ahead by 11 days and by instituting the exception to the rule for leap years. This new rule, whereby a century year is a leap year only if divisible by 400, is the sole feature that distinguishes the Gregorian calendar from the Julian calendar.
Following the Gregorian reform, the average length of the year was 365.2425 days, an even closer approximation to the solar year. At this rate, it will take more than 3,000 years for the Gregorian calendar to gain one extra day in error.
*info from Wikipedia and InfoPlease
As I was searching for funny facts about the leap day/year, I stumbled upon Yahoo's own feature article about Leap Day, which, if you click on the link, directs you to Portfolio.com's Happy Leap Day! (Unless You're in Debt) article.
Having read the story, I was much more entertained with the comments!
So here's my treat for you guys: Here are (for me) the most hilarious (or maybe intriguing?) comments ever written about the leap day... (Brace yourselves!)
To put a end to the mystery of Cleopatra's ethnicity. She was Filipina, born in San Diego california. Were she later met Mr.C at the popular club in National city(Trophy Lounge). Soon after discovering that he(Mr.C) was cheating, she left him took the house, half of his pay ,left him the kids and moved Marc Anthony into their home. That Mr.C is court ordered to pay the mortage on.
- JUSKIDN
As I was searching for funny facts about the leap day/year, I stumbled upon Yahoo's own feature article about Leap Day, which, if you click on the link, directs you to Portfolio.com's Happy Leap Day! (Unless You're in Debt) article.
Having read the story, I was much more entertained with the comments!
So here's my treat for you guys: Here are (for me) the most hilarious (or maybe intriguing?) comments ever written about the leap day... (Brace yourselves!)
I don't mind the extra day, but I wish they made it a Saturday.
- Alex
it don't cost u an extra days of interest or not interest, cause a day is a day is a day is a day.
- Ceaser
I think the reason why February only has 29 days instead of 30 is because Augustus wanted 31 days in August (he was apparently upset that August only had 30).
- Jin
i think today is awsome
- bigsister75
It's just too bad the leap year is always on an election year - one extra day of listening to those idiots lie for votes.
- Word
I belive this day was made to make the world better place in time to come.
- Jessie
Cleopatra was Egyptian(african hah, black history month hah) ! and we aren't supposed to have a leap year every 400 years but did in 2000. explain that genius. I hate you people
- edu
I agree , this should be a day off for all.
- ang
life is short ill take any days I can get (love all days)
- ravenwood
there are still a billion people on this planet, who have no calendar and are not reading this. think about that.
- HolyMoly
I just wanted to add that Cleopatra was a queen from a line of Greeks who ran Egypt for 300 years prior to her time starting with Ptolemy and Alexander the Great....so she was not Arab or Moor...neither was the nobility. Not that this has anything to do with the stupid calender story but i thought i'd reply
- Tappist
any day that you are alive and well is a good day, be it 29th Feb or the 62nd March, who cares as long as you feel well and have no worries.
- Tiger
actually February used to be 30 days
than Julius Caesar changed the name of "July" to his name and made it 31(was 30), that made Feb 29 days
than August Caesar changed the name of "August" to his name and made it 31(was 30)and shorten Feb again, that made Feb 28 days
- Truth
that is so gay, but on the bright side, we get paid a day sooner!!!(for those who get paid on the 30th.
- $$$nancy$$$
Oh Lord!! So many people confused!! What the hey! Cleopatra was Greek. Egypt is in North Africa. Black History Month is good. People learn to spell!!! Are all Americans so ignorant????
- tack!
It stinks that we have an extra day of school!
- anonymous
Why not June 31st? Why did the extra day have to be in February?
- HateWinter
To make people who born on this date look young.
- Sen
WHO CARES PEOPLE,GET A LIFE
- S
what about if some person will born in feb 29 than he/she will be at least 4 years off please can some body help with these crazy day .
- outofdought
I like leap day because I actually get a birthday!!
- leapfisch
Instead of a leap year why don't we add 6 hours to every year, by prolonging the physical period of a month by 1/2 hour.
- Marko
i think the groundhog had something to do with it.
- buttnugget
hmmm,what if we had no calendar,held no census and had no mandatory taxes
- micole
Let's just have an 8 day week with and extra day off.
- Slick
Actually the correct explanation is the earth is shaped like an egg because of the super black holes in the universe so it messed up gravity for the moon and our sun.. actually the correct date is more like those Star Trek dates from the tv series
- bule_maui
Actually, the Romans messed the calendar up and accidentally translated the year incorrectly. We lost 4 years from that. So if they hadn't messed that up, it'd be Feb. 29, 2004 rather than Feb. 29, 2008. So that is kind of awkward...
- Someone
I thought the Mayans created the fancy extremely acurate calander?
And other places, I've heard it was Ben Franklin... my sources are strange...
- ConfusedOne
I honestly can't believe I actually read all these comments??? At least the poop and keys people made me laugh!!!!
- Laughing.at.you
I would like to see the leap day changed to become an additional Wednesday in the second week of Feb so I can get an additional social security check.
- olddude
why does black history month have to be during the shortest month out of the year?
think about it.
- bb
we owe leap year to a culture that was way smarter than ours, the Myans. And for black history month, February could have not been a better month to pick, cause its the shortest month. ha ha ha
- man
I'm a salary employee and therefore am being made to work an extra day every four years. It should be made a holiday.
- HeyNow
If we had a 13 months calander, all the months would be 28 days, but we would still need a leap year every four years.
Just a thought.
- John
to day is my B-Day. im a college student and I'm 5yrs old. today is awsome
- al
you are all a bunch of fuck ups so lets get a life and talk about something that means something
- BettySue
- JUSKIDN
That last one caught me off guard. What's that person talking about?!?
Anyway, I hope you had fun reading what these people think about leap day as much as I did.
Ian
xoxo
xoxo
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