Welcome to Leap Day Eve! It happens every four years, and it’s an especially big deal for those who have a birthday on February 29th….because when they're 20…they’re five…or something like that. Much like the time change, many people wonder why we even bother with the whole Leap Year thing, but unlike the time change, there are actually a few good reasons why we do it…this from Professor Christopher Sirola, from the University of Southern Mississippi School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
- The orbit of the Earth doesn’t happen on an “even number” of days, but rather 365.2422 days…give or take
- That means that a year is essentially 365 days and six hours
- If Leap Day wasn’t observed, the whole birthday thing would be out the window for those select few born on the 29th….but there’d be more impactful repercussions, too
- In just 40 years, the Earth’s seasons would be out of line by ten days
- In 700 years, the Northern Hemisphere “could experience an Australian Christmas, with summer heat in December”
- Hunting season and other seasonal rituals and celebrations would need to be changed around, but everything would eventually get back to “normal” in another 700 years after the cycle is completed