Note to self: if convicted make sure sentence specifies the number of days to be served.
For some ridiculous reason, to which, however, I’ve no desire to be disloyal,
Some person in authority, I don’t know who, very likely the Astronomer Royal,
Has decided that, although for such a beastly month as February,
twenty-eight days as a rule are plenty,
One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine and twenty.
Through some singular coincidence – I shouldn’t be surprised if it were owing to the
agency of an ill-natured fairy –
You are the victim of this clumsy arrangement, having been born in leap-year,
on the twenty-ninth of February;
And so, by a simple arithmetical process, you’ll easily discover,
That though you’ve lived twenty-one years, yet, if we go by birthdays,
you’re only five and a little bit over!
Every four years, except every 100 years when it isn’t, except every 400 years when it is.
2000 was a Leap Year, but 1900 wasn’t…
Not even days are safe. Make sure the sentence is specified in seconds:
Me, I’d ask for it in Planck time.
Written out.
In German.
I heard if you were born today, you get three years free every cycle.
FREE.
I know I said three.
My mom turned 18 back before the legal age moved to 21. Because she was born in February, she always celebrated on February 28th, even though her birthday was technically the day after the 28th of February.
So this year, she goes to celebrate at her local watering hole on the 28th. First legal beer! The barkeep naturally asks to see ID, which she dutifully provides. Upon looking it over, the barkeep solemnly states, “It says that your birthday isn’t actually until tomorrow.”
To which she replies, “But there is no tomorrow.”
After meditating on this for a moment, the barkeep proceeded to pour her a beer.
Happy birthday, mom!
You’ll need to nail down the altitude and velocity of your container too.
4 years are something like ZweioktilliardenvierunddreiĂźigoktillionen Planck-Zeitintervalle (2.34*1051 tp).
So how does the time cube account for leap years?
Well, since the discussion was about losing a day out of a few years, I’d insist on the EXACT number. None of that scientific notation business.
what IS the exact number?
During high school, I learned a valuable lesson* in journalism class when I wrote an article about Leap Year Day. I did some research about the Julian calendar etc. and handed it in. A few days later, after the issue went to print, there was my article with my name on the byline – but also another writer’s name, along with some new text that I did not write:
Happy birthday to you / Happy birthday to you / Happy birthday little leap froggies…
Everyone asked if I had written that and I went to great pains to explain (to whoever would stop laughing for a second) that, no, I had handed in a matter-of-fact, informative article and someone else had slid in the rest after I left.
*Well, I’m not sure I learned anything: the editor is always right? The faculty adviser is always right? Don’t let your work leave your eyesight until the presses are rolling?
As it happens I did not go into journalism, anyway.
Leap Day comes every four years just as the Presidential election day. Since people are more likely to vote if we have that day off, I suggest we make February 29, Election Day!
Or at least, Leap day should be a national holiday.
I’m not opposed to having Leap Day (or, more properly 
St. Tibb’s Day) off and Voting Day off. But having … 7 extra months to dread the results of America’s electoral college, rigged districts, and corporations getting the vote (more meaningfully than if they literally only voted) sounds even less fun than what we do right now.
If only we’d all had the sense to go along with Emperor Joshua Norton I when it had a chance of doing any good.
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