Every four years we have an extra day in February. The reason, scientifically, is because the earth takes longer than 365 days to go around the sun- 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds to be exact.
Historically it was the Egyptians who were the first to figure out the solar year and the man made calendar didn’t always match up. Therefore, an extra day was added to compensate for the extra time.
The Romans were the first to designate February 29 as leap day. The first leap day was celebrated in 40 B.C.E. thanks to Mr. Julius Caesar.
Some other interesting leap year historical facts:
In 1288 Scotland established this day as one when a woman could propose to a man!
In 1940 Hattie McDaniel became the first black person to win an Oscar for her performance in Gone with the Wind. A random fact about McDaniel is she lived for a time in Fort Collins, Colorado! Her house still stands today.
In 1952 the first pedestrian regulation signs were installed in New York City.
Happy Leap Day everyone! Enjoy the day, since it won’t come back around until 2016!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
