Numbers in the News: Happy Leap Year!

This February has 29, instead of 28, days—a quirk of the calendar that happens every four years.

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365.24 vs. 365

The average number of days it takes Earth to orbit the sun vs. days in a typical calendar year. Because of the slight difference, a leap day is added every four years to sync calendar seasons with actual ones.

46 B.C.

The year Roman emperor Julius Caesar added the first leap day to the calendar.

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1 IN 1,461

The odds of being born on February 29.

1 IN 365

The odds of being born on a non-leap date.

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Presidential election years always conincide with a leap year.

THINK ABOUT IT: What do you think would happen if there were no leap year? How might a mismatch between seasons and calendars affect things like school schedules or holidays?

SOURCE: NASA

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