Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Staff report
Youngstown
If there were no Leap Day today — and every four years — after 120 years, the calendar would be off by an entire month.
That could be just the start of problems.
“Over 600 to 800 years without Leap Year, we could be having summer days in the middle of December,” said Pat Durrell, associate professor of astronomy at Youngstown State University.
It takes Earth 24 hours to spin on its axis, and Earth takes 365.242 days to make one complete trip around the sun, leading to a quarter day that must be built into the system, Durrell said.
Instead of adding six hours to each year, “we let it slide for four years and it adds up to a full day,” Durrell said.
“A quarter-day doesn’t sound like much, but if you let it build up, it makes a difference,” he added.
Because the Earth’s orbit takes about 365.242 days, there is an additional correction to factor in.
“Occasionally, a leap year gets dropped because it’s ever so slightly off,” Durrell said, noting that there was not a Leap Day in 1900 or 1700. Every 100 years a leap day is skipped, unless that year can be divided by 400.
Leap Day occurs on Feb. 29 as part of the modern Gregorian calendar, which was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
Any children born today could be called “Leaplings” and join 10,000-plus members of The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies, which estimates that about 4 million people in the world have a Feb. 29 birthday.
In the British Isles, tradition states that only on Leap Day is it socially acceptable for a woman to propose and the man must accept, which was the basis of the 2010 film “Leap Year” starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode.
The tradition takes a bit of a twist in Scandinavian countries, were it’s said if a man refuses a Leap Day proposal, he must purchase goods for his suitor, such as gloves or fabric.
Durrell said although the traditions vary, many cultures mark Leap Day.
“It’s just one of those unique days,” he said.
Here are some events that happened on Feb. 29:
In 1940, “Gone with the Wind” captures eight Academy Awards, including best picture and best supporting actress for Hattie McDaniel, the first black performer so honored.
In 1960, the first Playboy Club opens in Chicago.
Locally, in 1972 Austintown Township trustees say township businesses and residents who plow snow into the street will be prosecuted.