2024 is a leap year
Seven exciting facts about the leap year
February 29th only takes place every four years – with some exceptions.
© imago images/Bihlmayerfotografie
Every four years an extra day is added to the calendar – February 29th. This special day brings with it many fascinations…
2024 is a leap year – and therefore one day longer than usual. February 29th only occurs every four years in the calendar. And this 366th day brings with it some weirdness, especially for those who were born on this day. Here are seven bizarre facts about February 29th.
55,000 Germans celebrate their birthday on February 29th
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 55,000 Germans were born on February 29th. Including numerous celebrities such as models Lena Gercke (35), footballer Benedikt Höwedes (35) or Dana Schweiger (55). Around 4.8 million people worldwide celebrate their birthday on Leap Day. In the leap year 2020, around 1,700 newborn babies were born in Germany – they are essentially celebrating their first “real” birthday this year.
By the way: Officially, according to Section 188 of the Civil Code, children born on February 29th only become one day older on March 1st, not on February 28th.
One mother, three Leap Day children
Things get particularly bizarre with a woman from the USA. She gave birth to her three children on February 29, her daughter in 2012 and her two sons in 2004 and 2008. The same story happened to a woman in Norway in the 1960s. She also gave birth to her three children on February 29 in 1960, 1964 and 1968.
Oscars on February 29th
The Oscars have already taken place twice on February 29th. In 1940 and 2004, the biggest prize of all film awards was presented in Los Angeles. In the latter case, the film “The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King”, which won a total of eleven awards, emerged as the most successful work.
Popular wedding date and strange custom
February 29th is also often used for marriage – be it for a romantic proposal or even for a big wedding celebration. Many registry offices also offer more appointments on Leap Day than usual. Also interesting: In some countries, such as Great Britain and Ireland, February 29th is seen as the traditional day on which women propose to men. The custom is known as “leap day proposals.”
Leap year bug paralyzed PlayStation
In 2010, a strange software error caused confusion. The system clock on the PlayStation 3 game console mistakenly thought the year was a leap year. This led to problems logging into the PlayStation Network on March 1st.
The History of the Leap Year
The leap years are intended to compensate for inaccuracies in the calendar calculation. The Roman Emperor Julius Caesar decreed during his calendar reform in 46 BC. The introduction of an extra year. At that time, February 24th was followed by a second February 24th.
Problem solved? Unfortunately not quite. Because by Caesar’s calculation there was one leap year too many every 128 years. In this way, the beginning of spring was pushed further and further into winter. In 1582 he arrived ten days early. And so Pope Gregory XIII led. introduced the Gregorian calendar, which is still in effect today.
Not just every four years
Attention, now it gets complicated: The Earth needs 365.24 days to orbit the sun – almost a quarter of a day longer than a normal calendar year. To compensate for this, the additional day is “interposed” every four years. However, since 0.24 days times four does not correspond exactly to a whole day, there is an exception at the turn of the century. Leap years are years that can be divided by four, but not by 100 – unless they are also divisible by 400. Accordingly, 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was.