1. Women are encouraged to propose to their significant others on Leap Day.
2. In Greece, it is considered bad luck to get married in a leap year.
3. People born on Leap Day, February 29th, are called “leapers” or “leaplings.”
4. Ja Rule, an American rapper, singer and actor, is a “leaper.”
5. Anthony, Texas, has named itself “the Leap Year Capital of the World.”
6. There is no official dish for Leap Day, but many eat frog legs in commemoration.
7. February 29 is also Rare Disease Day.
8. Astrologers believe that those born on Leap Day have unusual talents.
9. Before Julius Caesar proposed the Leap Year, people observed a 355-day calendar with an extra 22-day month every 2 years.
10. Sosigenes was the Greek astronomer who conceived the Leap Day solution.
11. February is a short month because Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus’ wanted August to be a longer month.
12. The modern Iranian calendar has 8 days inserted every 33 years.
13. A number of historical events have occurred on Leap Days.
14. 1504 — Christopher Columbus used his knowledge of a coming lunar eclipse to trick native chiefs into thinking that God would punish them for not gifting him with provisions. When the moon turned red and then back to normal, the chiefs panicked and gave Columbus what he asked for.
15. 1692 — The first warrants were issued in the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts.
16. 1864 — The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren raid failed, a military move that would have freed 15,000 Union Soldiers.
17. 1892 — St. Petersburg, Florida, was incorporated into the United States.
18. 1940 — Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award for her role as Mammy in “Gone with the Wind.”
19. 1944 — Admiralty Island was invaded in Operation Brewer led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
20. 1960 — An earthquake in Morocco killed more than 3,000 people and nearly destroyed Agadir.
21. At Krispy Kreme, you can buy a dozen donuts for $2.29.
22. The French call leapfrog “saute-mouton,” which translates literally as “leap sheep.”
23. The frog is a symbol associated with February 29. The Australian rocket frog can leap over two metres.
24. Queen Margaret of Scotland was apparently 5 years old when she came up with the February 29 female wedding proposal.
25. If a man refused the proposal, he would be fined a kiss, a silk dress or twelve pairs of gloves.
26. Women either have to wear breeches or a scarlet petticoat to pop the question, according to tradition.
27. Many stores have 29% off sales.
28. The plot of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance revolved around Frederic’s discovery that, because he is a leapling, he must remain apprenticed to pirates and serve another 63 years before he can join Mabel, his one true love.
29. The character Leap Day William, who appeared in an television episode of 30 Rock, wears blue and yellow.
photos from lackunauna, reellifewithjane, sparticuswikia, wikipedia
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