Happy Leap Day!
February 29th, 2008
Since it is Leap Day, I figured it would be good to learn more about this not-so-festive holiday. Below is a cornucopia of what the good folks at Google gave me.
However, you must read all the way to the bottom of this post to learn a special piece of information that may make Leap Day more fun for our very own Ronnie Guidry.
February 29, 2008
The year 2008 is a leap year. If you look at a 2008 calendar, you will see that February has five Fridays–the month begins and ends on a Friday. Between the years 1904 and 2096, leap years that share the same day of week for each date repeat only every 28 years. The most recent year in which February comprised five Fridays was in 1980, and the next occurrence will be in 2036. February 29, the leap day, has been associated with age-old traditions, superstitions and folklore.
What is a leap year?
A leap year is a year in which one extra day has been inserted, or intercalated, at the end of February. A leap year consists of 366 days, whereas other years, called common years, have 365 days.
Which years are leap years?
In the Gregorian calendar, the calendar used by most modern countries, the following three criteria determine which years will be leap years:
Every year that is divisible by four is a leap year; of those years, if it can be divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless the year is divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year. According to the above criteria, that means that years 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are NOT leap years, while year 2000 and 2400 are leap years. It is interesting to note that 2000 was somewhat special as it was the first instance when the third criterion was used in most parts of the world.
In the Julian calendar–introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and patterned after the Roman calendar–there was only one rule: any year divisible by four would be a leap year. This calendar was used before the Gregorian calendar was adopted.
Some Famous People Born on February 29
Born 1976 - Ja Rule, rapper
Born 1972 - Anthonio Sabato Jr., model & actor
Born 1916 - Dinah Shore, singer
Born 1904 - Jimmy Dorsey, bandleader.
Born 1792 - Gioacchino Rossini, Italian opera composer
Some History On This Date
1288 - Scotland established this day as one when a woman could propose marriage to a man! If he refused, he was required to pay a fine.
1704 - The town of Deerfield, MA was raided on this date by French Canadians and Indians who were trying to retrieve their church bell that had been shipped from France.
1904 - On this day in Washington, DC, a seven-man commission was created to hasten the construction of the Panama Canal.
1932 - Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers teamed up to record “Shine” for Brunswick Records.
1940 - Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Mammy in “Gone with the Wind”.
1944 - The invasion of the Admiralty Islands began on this date as U.S. General Douglas MacArthur led his forces in “Operation Brewer”. Troops surged onto Los Negros, following a month of Allied advances in the Pacific.
1944 - The first woman appointed secretary of a national political party was named to the Democratic National Committee. Dorothy McElroy Vredenburgh of Alabama began her new appointment this day.
1944 - The Office of Defense Transportation, for the second year, restricted attendance at the Kentucky Derby to residents of the Louisville area to prevent a railroad traffic burden during wartime. We imagine that horses were allowed in from elsewhere, though…
1952 - New York City pedestrians were told when to walk and when not to as four signs were installed at 44th Street and Broadway in Times Square. Each sign flashed “Walk” for 22 seconds, then “Don’t Walk” for ten seconds before the “Don’t Walk” turned red for 58 seconds more.
1960 - A report from the White House stated that America’s kids were getting too fat!
1964 - The United States was in the grip of Beatlemania! “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, by the lads from Liverpool, was in its 5th week at #1 on the pop charts. It stayed there until March 21, when it was replaced by “She Loves You”, which was replaced by “Can’t Buy Me Love”, which was finally replaced by “Hello Dolly”, by Louis Armstrong, on May 9, 1964. 14 straight weeks of #1 stuff by the Beatles!
1972 - Karen and Richard Carpenter of Downey, CA, received a gold record for the hit single “Hurting Each Other”.
1988 - “Day by Day”, a situation comedy, premiered on this date on NBC-TV. It was one of the “yuppie sitcoms” that were all over the TV
dial in the late ’80s. This particular one was about a suburban overachieving couple who dropped out and opened up a day-care center in their home to spend more quality time with their children.
1992 - Mr. Big hit it big this day, moving to #1 with, “To Be with You”. It would be the biggest hit in the U.S. for three big weeks.
For Ronnie
The Leap Year Cocktail. Invented at the Savoy Hotel in London on February 29, 1928 this sweet concoction was said to have spurred many a marriaage proposal.
2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
1/4 ounce lemon juice
Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Serve with a twist of lemon.
One Response to “Happy Leap Day!”
By Ronnie Guidry on Feb 29, 2008 | Reply
DANG! And I just got back from the liquor store. I would have made this. Maybe I can make it tomorrow night? *sheepish look*