What Do You Know About Leap Years?
How often does a leap year occur?
- Leap years occur every four years to help synchronize the calendar year with the solar year.
What is the main reason we have leap years?
- To account for the Earth's rotation around the Sun. It takes Earth approximately 365.25 days to orbit the Sun once. Leap Years account for this extra quarter day.
Which of these years was NOT a leap year?
- While most years divisible by four are leap years, centuries are not unless they are divisible by 400. Therefore, 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 and 1600 were.
If a year is divisible by four, it is a leap year. What is the exception to this rule?
- If the year is divisible by 100, but not by 400. This rule keeps our calendar aligned over very long periods of time.
In what month does the leap day occur?
- Leap Day is added to the end of February, making it February 29.
Who introduced the leap year?
- The Romans. Julius Caesar introduced leap years in the Roman Empire over 2,000 years ago.
What is a person called who is born on February 29?
- All three terms are commonly used for people born on February 29.
When do people born on Leap Day typically celebrate their birthdays in non-leap years?
- Either February 28 or March 1. The choice depends on personal preference or legal considerations.
Which famous composer, born on a leap day, composed the opera "The Pirates of Penzance"?
- Gioachino Rossini. He was born on February 29, 1792.
In Irish tradition, what happens if a man refuses a woman's leap day proposal?
- He must give her 12 pairs of gloves. This tradition was supposedly intended to hide the woman's embarrassment of not having an engagement ring.
