Did You Know?
An Extra 24 Hours: How the leap year shapes our world!
Here’s a fun article exploring the various shades of this year’s February bonanza
Charlie Chaplin had famously remarked that, “A day without laughter is a day wasted” and the day becomes much more special if it comes once in four years.
A very happy leap day to all the readers. Today is a bonus day of sunshine as several ‘leaplings’ will finally get the chance to celebrate their birthday on the actual date itself.
Indeed, February 29 is a special occasion and it serves as a reminder to encash this bonus opportunity and enjoy life a bit more.
But, why do we have this extra day?
Well, leap years are necessary because the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is not exactly 365 days long. Yes, it approximately takes the Earth 365.2422 days to complete one orbit.
Hence, to keep our calendar year synchronised with the Earth’s orbit, we add an extra day to our calendars every four years, known as the leap day. This extra day is added to the month of February, making it 29 days long instead of the usual 28.
Fun Math!
The leap year rule states that any year divisible by 4 is a leap year, except for years that are divisible by 100 but not by 400.
This rule helps adjust for the discrepancy between the calendar year and the actual length of the solar year, ensuring that our calendar remains accurate over time. Without leap years, our calendar would gradually drift out of sync with the seasons.
This would mean summers coming in the wrong months and this could create a havoc situation for the farmers due to miscalculations in agriculture.
Celebrity birthdays!
Former Indian Prime Minister Shri Morarji Desai was also a ‘leapling’. Born on 29 February 1896, Mr. Desai had a remarkable life in all aspects, especially his age. He passed away at the age of 99 on April 10, 1995. Yet he was eternally young, celebrating only 24 birthdays!
‘LLOL’- Laugh Out Loud Leaplings!
