Slow news day yesterday. I went online and found out some fun stuff about the extra day we have this year. Leap day.
Pretty easy one first. You can figure out which year will be a leap year by dividing the year by 4. If it comes out evenly, it's a leap year. If it's the year that begins a new century, it will never be a leap year unless the year itself is divisible by 400. That's getting a bit too math-involved for me. Basically, since 2000 was a leap year, there won't be another one until the year 2400. That means I won't have to worry it anyway.
Adding a day every four years probably came at the request of an Alexandrian astronomer named Sosigenes. He rightly believed that the intermittent addition of extra time to the yearly calendar would better synchronize the seasons with Earth's orbit around sun.
Apparently Leap Day is the original Sadie Hawkins Day. So women can propose to men. That started because the day has no legal status, especially in the Old English Law. If legal stuff didn't count on that day, then why should traditions? So women began taking advantage of this and proposing to men they wanted to marry. Go for it, Ladies.
Leap Day is also St. Oswald's Day. St. Oswald was an archbishop of York who died on February 29, 992 A.D. His memorial is celebrated on February 29 during Leap Years and on February 28 during common years. I never thought about the other three years being "common." The chances of being born on a Leap Year are 1 in 1,461, so it seems kind of sad for those of us born in common years. Does that mean we'll never be truly special?
How about some famous people born on February 29th?
1976 - Ja Rule (American rapper and actor) – Known for several top 20 hits and selling over 30 million records world-wide.
1972 – Antonio Sabàto Jr. (Italian-born actor) - best known for his role on the soap opera General Hospital
1960 – Anthony (Tony) Robbins, American motivational speaker and author
1916 - Dinah Shore – Popular American singer and actress, she was voted #16 in TV Guide's list of the top 50 tv stars of all time
1468 – Pope Paul III – Pope from 1534 to 1549
1924 – Al Rosen – (American baseball player) - Cleveland Indians 3rd Baseman
1792 – Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer (William Tell, The Barber of Seville)
Jimmy Dorsey – Well-known big band leader
Dennis Farina – Actor, most known for Law & Order, Get Shorty, and Luck.
Saul Williams – Poet and actor, known for his leading role in the 1998 film Slam
Richard Ramirez – Convicted serial killer was known as the "Night Stalker"
Aileen Wuornos – Convicted serial killer and subject of the 2003 film, Monster
Great company, birthday kids. Enjoy your day.
Jeremiah 2:19 says, "'Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me,' declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty."
Father, thank you for quirky days like today. Makes me appreciate "common" day even more. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment