17 Leap Year Fun Facts

Happy February 29th! Roughly every four years, an extra day, called Leap Day, is added to our calendar to account for the mismatch between our typical calendar year and the Earth’s orbit. This is how we keep our seasons and calendar years in sync. If we didn’t add an extra day in occasionally, we’d eventually end up with summer in December or snow in July! In honor of this special day, we thought we would share some fun facts about Lear Year. Keep reading to see what facts might surprise you.

Leap Year Fun Facts

1. The actual time that it takes the Earth to orbit the sun is 365.242190 days, and therefore the Leap Day was created to account for this.
2. Not every 4 years is a Leap Year! Centurial years not divisible by 400 are eliminated from the “Leap Years” to further correct the differences between the calendar and the Earth’s orbit.
3. If there were an extra day every 4 years, the calendar would actually be longer than the Earth’s orbit by 44 minutes.
4. Without Leap Day, our calendar would be off by about 24 days every century.
5. People born on Leap Day are known as “Leaplings” or “Leapers”.
6. There is an international club for leaplings, The Honor Society of Leap Year Babies, which has over 10,000 member worldwide.
7. There are only about 5 million people in the whole world who were born on February 29th. The odds of being born on Leap Day are about 1 in 1,461.
8. Famous people born on Leap Day include Ja Rule, Mark Foster, Antonio Sabato Jr., Tony Robbins, Dinah Shore and Dennis Farina.
9. In Ireland, women are encouraged to propose to their partners on Leap Days, flipping the traditional gender roles.
10. In parts of China, children give their parents gifts on Leap Day.
11. In Greek tradition, it’s considered back luck to marry on Leap Day.
12. In Italy, people say, “Anno bisesto, anno funesto,” which loosely translates to, “Leap Year, Doom Year.”
13. Other major events that only occur every 4 years are the U.S. Presidential Elections and the Summer Olympics.
14. While Roman dictator Julius Caesar introduced Leap Day, the Leap Year system we use today was implemented by Pope Gregory XIII.
15. Many ancient calendars included entire Leap Months! The Romans named the month “Mercedonius” and it consisted of 23 days.
16. There are two self proclaimed “Leap Year Capitals of the World.” Anthony, Texas and Anthony, New Mexico both hold lavish, multi-day celebrations each Leap Year.
17. In a typical calendar year, there are 525,600 minutes. In a Leap Year, there are 527,040 minutes. How will you choose to spend your extra 1,440 minutes this year?

Book Your Next Vacation on Leap Day!

Come join us at the Lake of the Ozarks this Leap Year! While February might not be the ideal month to visit mid-Missouri, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about those summer vacation plans. Booking early ensures that you have more options to choose from and can find the best property to meet your needs. Give our office a call today, Leap Day, to inquire about our 125+ vacation rental properties at the Lake of the Ozarks! From large 6-bedroom homes to small 1-bedroom condos, we’ve got something for everyone!

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