 |
|
|
February 29, 2000: Leap Day Online Written for CBC Ottawa's Radio Show, CBO Morning "Thirty
days hath September, Yes, it is that rarest of days today, the infamous LEAP DAY, which leaves a lot of people wondering why exactly we need another day in nasty cold February (aren’t there enough already?). Needless to say, any unusual day is an excuse for a celebration—or at least the creation of a bunch of weird web pages—on the Internet. Shall we take a look? First,
let’s do the math. Why do we need leap year anyway? Back in roman times, the calendar addressed this problem by adding an extra 22 day month every few years. However, during the times of Julius Caesar, this system backfired, as the seasons no longer occurred during the same months they once had. Caesar solved this riddle by getting rid of the extra month, and adding a extra day every few years. Monks further refined this system in 8AD when the calendar was changed from having a leap day every three years to every four years. However, when the monks and astronomers in the 1500s took a look at the sky even closer, they found out that our planet’s journey actually takes a few minutes under 365 and ¼ days. To make up for this correction, Pope Gregory XIII declared in 1582 that leap day could fall on any year divisible by 4, but not 100, except when the year is divisible by 400. Hence, years with 00 in them can’t be leap years—unless the year is divisible by four. Are you confused yet? I sure know I am. So, here we are in the year 2000. And even though 2000 ends with those double zeros, it is divisible by four. Hence, today, leap day. If you’re looking for a more detailed explanation of leap day, you might want to check out the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, (http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/) where you can find a lovely online leaflet (http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/leaflets/leapyear/leapyear.html) explaining the entire thing. And if you want to get really confused, there’s the description of leap seconds hosted by the US Naval Observatory. You can find this bewildering document at http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/leapsec.html. But even though we know today is leap day, the jury remains out on whether computers do. In fact, today there might be a good chance that our little friend the Y2K glitch could be coming back. You see, most people, including computer programmers, don’t know how detailed leap year calculations can be. For example, programmers who know about the 00 rule, may not know about the divisible by four rule. Therefore, our Y2K teams are back on the watch. On the net, you can monitor Y2K leap day glitches at the US President’s Council on Y2K Centre (http://www.y2k.gov/) where you can find a nice little fact sheet on leap day conversion. If you want to test your computer yourself for leap year compliance, check out the University of Illinois’s Y2K Leap Year Problem page at http://www.uic.edu/year2000/leapyear.html. Interestingly enough, I found the Canadian Y2K page, Task Force Year 2000 (http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mangb/y2k/burst.html) strangely bereft of leap day information. Plus, the site is apparently going to be shut down on March 31st. Can we say short-sighted? Leap Year Celebrations:Of course there are those out there who choose not to fret about Y2K on this rare day, but to celebrate it instead. In fact, there are plenty of websites that catalogue and celebrate leap year facts and lore. For example, did you know that there is a one in 1506 chance of being born on Leap day? And that there are over 4 million leap year babies worldwide? This, and other interesting facts are to be found at the @February 29th page, which lives at http://www.mystro.com/leap.htm. In addition to interesting facts, the page hosts a leap year calculator, a leap year cocktail recipe, and leap year stories. If you are one of those lucky folks who was born on leap day, you cannot miss the Honor Society of Leap Day Babies site at http://www.leapdaybabies.com/. If you are indeed a "leaper" you can join the society here, read their "leapzine", send e-leapday cards, read about famous leapers, and peruse stories and anecdotes from leapers around the world. Another Odd Tradition:According to ancient lore, back in the 5th century, Irish St. Bridget convinced St. Patrick that women should be allowed to propose marriage at least once day a year. St. Patrick relented, but with a catch—he ordained that women would have the opportunity only every four years—on leap day. The tradition continued, and in 1288 Scotland passed a law that gave women the legal right to propose on leap day. And if the man refused, he was fined! You can find out more about these leap year marriage traditions on About.com’s marriage guide, at http://marriage.about.com/people/marriage During this century, this time-honoured tradition has been melded with pop culture, as leap day became Sadie Hawkins’ day. Sadie Hawkins was a character in the hugely popular comic strip Lil’ Abner. In the strip, Sadie gets a chance to run and catch her husband once a year. Originally Sadie Hawkins day took place in November, but over the years it has become part of the leap year tradition. Find out more about Sadie Hawkins from the Lil’ Abner website, at http://www.lil-abner.com/sadiehawk.html. I would like to believe that we live in more enlightened times now, and women no longer need to wait for the man to propose. However, Sadie Hawkins day is the perfect excuse to send some goofy e-postcards (find them at bluemountain cards: http://www.bluemountain.com/eng3/leapyear/ and postcards.org at http://browse.postcards.org/postcards/cards/1140/) Well, after all this surfing about leap year, I have basically one conclusion. I wish that my birthday was February 29th. I’d be 6.75 years old! Sometimes I feel like that’s my mental age anyway. Sites discussed in this column:
|
