leap year

11 Stories

You Won't See This Newspaper for 4 More Years

France's satirical 'La Bougie du Sapeur' only comes out on leap year

(Newser) - There have only been 11 issues of La Bougie du Sapeur since Valery d'Estaing was the French president, and on Thursday, locals welcome the 12th. What the BBC calls "the world's only quadrennial" satirical newspaper is out again this week in France, making its once-every-four-years appearance on...

We Don't Have Leap Years Every 4 Years

It was most recently skipped in 1900, and we'll skip it again in 2100

(Newser) - Leap year. It's a delight for the calendar and math nerds among us. So how did it all begin and why? Have a look at some of the numbers, history, and lore behind the (not quite) every four-year phenom that adds a 29th day to February this year, from...

Woman Turns 100 on Her 25th Birthday

Leap day baby's longevity advice: Stay nice and calm

(Newser) - "I feel like I’m about 75," Angie Crognale said on her birthday, which could add to the numerical confusion. She turned 100 Saturday, though having been born on Feb. 29, 1920—a leap day—she's had only 25 birthdays. Crognale has been in an assisted living...

Leap Year Doesn't Actually Happen Every 4 Years

And other fun tidbits about how Feb. 29 throws a wrench in the calendar

(Newser) - Every four years, we get to celebrate leap year, with an extra day tacked onto the end of February to keep our calendar in sync with the solar year—the amount of time it takes for the Earth to revolve around the sun, or about 365.242159 days, per the...

Arby's Is Going Vegetarian for One Day

Although, meat will still be available

(Newser) - It's difficult for a vegetarian to eat at Arby's—there's a lot of meat on the menu. So, in order "to give vegetarians a reason to visit Arby’s on Leap Day," an exec says in a press release , the fast food chain will offer...

Why Leap Years Don't Happen Every 4 Years

There's one exception to the rule

(Newser) - Why do we have leap years? Basically, to ensure that there's a better chance you'll see snow on Christmas than falling leaves. "If we didn't have leap years, our calendar would be totally scrambled," explains a worker at America's timekeeper, Washington DC's US...

Leap-Year Bug Zapped Zunes
Leap-Year Bug Zapped Zunes
Jan 1, 2009 6:21 AM CST

Leap-Year Bug Zapped Zunes

Microsoft advises Zune30 owners to drain batteries, then recharge

(Newser) - All 2006 model Zune30s froze up at midnight last night because of a problem handling the last day of leap years, according to Microsoft. The company advises owners to wait until 4pm PST today, drain the device's batteries, and then recharge, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Microsoft apologized for the inconvenience,...

Why We Have Leap Year
Why We Have Leap Year
Feb 29, 2008 2:35 PM CST

Why We Have Leap Year

It's a timekeeping fix by Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII

(Newser) - It's leap day, and scientist Chris Turner uses his extra time to muse in the New York Times on its origins. Julius Caesar came up with a plan—pinning the calendar to the Earth's circling of the sun—in 46 BC as a way to synchronize months with the seasons....

Leap Day Cocktails Lost to Time
Leap Day Cocktails Lost to Time
OPINION
Feb 29, 2008 11:27 AM CST

Leap Day Cocktails Lost to Time

Drinks passé, along with Sadie Hawkins-style man-chasing

(Newser) - Feb. 29 still comes once every four years, but celebratory cocktails marking the bissextile have gone out of fashion—along with a leap-year tradition that requires plenty of liquid courage, Eric Felten notes in the Wall Street Journal. Women who proposed marriage during the leap year could not be denied;...

Zoos Leap Into Year of Frog
Zoos Leap Into Year of Frog
Feb 29, 2008 9:23 AM CST

Zoos Leap Into Year of Frog

Activists bring attention to decline of amphibians

(Newser) - How could any zoo resist? Leap Day, in the Year of the Frog, is being celebrated by zoos and conservationists everywhere as the perfect time to draw attention to the plight of amphibians. "We want to get people talking about frogs and thinking about them," said one zookeeper....

Leap Into 2008 Was Miles Early
Leap Into 2008 Was Miles Early
Jan 2, 2008 12:18 PM CST

Leap Into 2008 Was Miles Early

New year has an extra day to keep calendar and planet synchronized

(Newser) - The Earth finished another rotation around the sun in 2007—just about. At midnight on December 31, it was actually about 400,000 miles short of where it had been a year before, and that annual shortfall is why we have leap years, explains the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Leap years...

11 Stories