10 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Leap Years!

Happy February 29^th, everyone! Today is a very special day, and probably deserves a little bit of an explanation before diving into a few unknown facts about Leap Years!

A Leap Year occurs every four years, and 2020 is no exception. On these years, the month of February gains an extra day in the calendar, extending the (normally) 28-day month into 29 days...but why? This extra day added to the year allows the length of our standard calendar year to be in sync with a compete solar rotation.

Although we all recognize a year as 365 days, in actuality, a complete solar rotation takes about 365.25 days. Therefore, to account for this extra time, we decided to combine the leftovers into a single extra day every four years!

Now, let's get to the good stuff...
 

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Leap Years

1) Every three years, an entire Leap Month is added to the Chinese calendar.

2) There is an Honor Society of Leap Year Babies dedicated to those born on February 29^th. There over 10,000 members worldwide in this organization.

3) However, over 4 million people across the globe have been born on a Leap Day.

4) The likeliness of being a baby being born on a Leap Day is approximately 1 in 1,461.

5) If you are born on a Leap Day, most states will recognize your birthday as March 1^st instead of February 28^th.

6) Those born on Leap Days are called “Leaplings” or “Leapers”.

7) Julius Caesar is known as the "Father of the Leap Year" for first introducing an extra day to the calendar once every four years.

8) Some cultures consider Leap Years to be bad luck, and will avoid scheduling important events (like weddings) during these years.

9) On the contrary, other cultures consider Leap Years as a period of celebration, hosting large festivals in honor of the special day.

10) Those paid an annual salary are (usually) not compensated for the extra day of work added to the year.

Which of these facts were most interesting to you? Did you know about any of them before? Let us know, and have a wonderful extra day this year!

Sources:

https://www.livethejourney.co.za/blog/20-fun-facts-about-leap-years/
https://www.cleveland.com/insideout/2016/02/post_462.html
https://www.aupaircare.com/stories/20-activites-and-facts-about-leap-year