Happy Leap Day

2 watchers

Oranj Feb 2016 6:10pm, 29 Feb 2016 193 posts	0 Oranj Amusingly, my Garmin 920 failed to add today's run to the monthly running total. It's still stuck on yesterday's total. I guess someone in Kansas forgot about leap years
McGoohan Feb 2016 6:31pm, 29 Feb 2016 22,104 posts	0 McGoohan Hopes and expects that every Jewish person was paid for the extra month they worked this year
Wriggling Snake Feb 2016 6:46pm, 29 Feb 2016 11,217 posts	0 Wriggling Snake you would think in today's scientific, technology savvy, non-religious enlightened times, we could have sorted out the clocks so that the little bif of extra time not built into the calendar is accounted for everyday across 4 years. We don't need a 29th of Feb, we CAN get rid of this nonsense.
Wriggling Snake Feb 2016 6:47pm, 29 Feb 2016 11,218 posts	0 Wriggling Snake Days, hours and seconds are ana artificial construct, so we can have them and set them how we want. I s that not so?
McGoohan Feb 2016 6:48pm, 29 Feb 2016 22,108 posts	0 McGoohan Days aren't artificial - it's how long the Earth takes to revolve.
Wriggling Snake Feb 2016 6:51pm, 29 Feb 2016 11,220 posts	0 Wriggling Snake yes, but they are not 34 hours long, that is the artificial bit, the days length wobbles by a small amount depending on the time of year and where you are on the planet. We know, at least clever clog people do by EXACTLY how much, there is no need for a 29th. The pips on the BBC could be changed every now and then t account for it. Seriously the 29th s not needed.
Wriggling Snake Feb 2016 6:51pm, 29 Feb 2016 11,221 posts	0 Wriggling Snake oops, 24 hours obvs.
Autumnleaves Feb 2016 7:17pm, 29 Feb 2016 8,033 posts	0 Autumnleaves The office clock went bananas today - we assume that it couldn't cope with leap year.
Oranj Feb 2016 7:35pm, 29 Feb 2016 195 posts	0 Oranj I don't understand why February has to be so short anyway - couldn't it steal a day from one of those greedy 31-day months?
Flatlander Feb 2016 9:15pm, 29 Feb 2016 377 posts	0 Flatlander We DO need leap years. Every 365 days does not bring the earth back to the same place in its orbit, it ends up a bit short, so over thousands of years 21st June would actually fall on the winter solstice. The Julian calendar did not fully correct for this and ended up being 11 days out in relation to the earth's position in its orbit by the time the accurate Gregorian calendar was introduced in the UK in 1752. If anyone really can't stand leap years, then you need to live to 2100, which isn't a leap year nor are 2200 and 2300, but 2400 will be, as was 2000. The Gregorian calendar maintains its accuracy by decreeing that every 100th year is not a leap year, unless it is divisible by 400.