Feb 28, 2016

Happy Leap Day! By Tim Hodson

While today may just seem like another Monday, it is one of those days that only happens every four years — February 29, a day filled with all kinds of fun facts.

Why does Leap Day exist? The root of Leap Day’s existence is that it takes the Earth 365 days and six hours to travel around the sun, so every four years those extra six hour per year add up to an additional day.

That extra day was added to the calendar during Julius Caesar’s reign back in 46 B.C. While Caesar’s math was a bit off when he added that extra day, a more precise formula was used when the Gregorian calendar was tweaked in the 16^th century.

An estimated 5 million people will be celebrating a birthday today and actually get to celebrate it on the date they were born. Happy birthday x 4 to all of you!

Of course, in the 21^st century, February 29 has become a marketing opportunity for many businesses looking to take advantage of the calendar variance. Be on the lookout today for many sales prices ending in $0.29.

But here’s one thing you just might want to consider today. According to the Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Folklore and the Occult Sciences of the World, today may not be a good day to do any planting because “The whole vegetable world is affected by the influences of leap year. The peas and beans grow the wrong way in their pods and seeds are set in quite the contrary way to what they are in other years.”

While I don’t think too many growers use this particular encyclopedia to make any of their important production decisions, I thought it was a fun fact to point out today. Remember, the book of folklore was actually published in 1903.

What do you plan to do with this extra day that 2016 has to offer? Drop me a line at thodson@greatamericanpublish.com and let me know.

— Tim