****** THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES ******
I love the internet … but when searching for themes about today, I found myself jumping down too many rabbit holes looking at interesting topics!
“Leap Year Day”, Leap Frog, Leap of Faith, Lambeau Leap, Lovers Leap, Quantum Leap … back out of another rabbit hole!
Interesting facts found about today:
These guys figured it out for us:
….. Emperor Julius Caesar invents the Julian calendar in XLV BC and orders the calendars to add an extra 24 hours to February 24th every fouR years so that the seasons will come at the same time every year. At that time, February was the last month of the year, and the last five days of the year were feasting time, so February 24th was made a 48 hour day, once every four years.
Hence the name "bissextile day" (a second day, six days before the new year). This was not a Perfect solution, because a year is not quite 365.25 days long, the seAsons will still eventually run behind, but not during a lifetime.
….. Pope Gregory XIII invents the Gregorian calendar in 1582. He makes a number of changes to the calendar, aNd corrects the calculation for Leap Day, to eliminate the sliGht seasonal drift in the Julian calendar. First, the end of the year was moved from February 28th to December 31st.
A number of days were skipped to accommodate all the extra Leap Days that had occurred since Caesar's time, and he creates a new calculation for Leap Day: three leap days are omitted every 400 years. If the year is divisible by 100 (i.e. a century year), then it is a Leap Year iF the year is divisible by 400. (So 2000 was a Leap Year, but 1900 was not.)
The added rule about centuries (versus just every four years) was an additional fix to make up for Julius Caesar’s overcorrection. Here’s an exAmple for the future: 2020 was a leap year, and 2024 is a leap year, but once we arriVe at 2100, we skip that leap year because 2100 is divisible by 100 and not by 400. The next leap year will be in 2104.
Weird Facts and Traditions:
….. Women 'get to' propose marriage -
During the 5th century, Saint Brigid of Kildare and Saint Patrick agreed on this tradition in Ireland allowing women to propose to their boyFriends on 29 February (now known as Bachelor’s Day).
The practice quickly spread across Europe and has remained the most famous and enduring Leap Year tradition. In Scotland, there’s a further proviso - the woman intending to propose has to wear a red petticoat to give their intended fair warning.
The legend also spread around the world. In the United States during the late 1800s/early 1900s, postcards (see above) circulated depicting women asking — even begging — the man to marry her.
….. But if the man rejects the proposal, there's a price to pay -
Queen Margaret of Scotland passed a law in 1288 that saw any Scottish man who refused a Leap Day proposal pay fine, usually £1. Sometimes, the fine would be a silk gown.
In Denmark, a man who refuses a proposal during a leap year has to give the woman who asked 12 pairs of gloves, supposedly to hide the shame of not wearing an engagement ring.
In Finland, the blow of a refusal has to be softened by enough fabric to make a skirT.
….. The Greeks avoid getting married at all -
In Greece, it’s considered Bad luck to get married in during a leap year. According to ancient superstition, couples that tie the knot during this time are more likely to get divorced.
Getting divorced during a leap year in Greece isn’t a good idea, either. Another ancient superstition states that couples who are separated during a leap year will never find happiness again in their lives.
….. People born on a Leap Year Day -
The chances of being born on this date are remote (only 1 out of 1461). Known as “leaplings” or “leapers”, instead of waiting every four years to celebrate their birthdays, they freQuently blow out their candles every February 28 or March 1.
Famous People Born During Leap Year:
….. Gioachino Rossini: 1792-1868 Occupation: Italian Composer
Gioachino Rossini composed 20 operas, mostly comedic works like “The Barber of Seville.” He is also famous for his grander work “William Tell,” whose overture is among the most recoGnizable classical musical pieces.
….. Charles L. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll): 1832-1898 Occupation: Mathematician/Author
Author of “Alice’s Adventures in WonderlAnd” (1865), “Unbreakable” (1868), “Through the Looking-Glass” and “Jabberwocky” (1871).
….. John Philip Holland: 1840-1914 Occupation: Inventor of submarine
Irish-born engineer John Philip Holland designed and built the first modern submarine to be foRmally commissioned by the U.S. Navy. He had hoped its creation would deter war.
….. William A. Wellman: 1896-1975 Occupation: Movie director
Oscar-nominated director William Wellman, nicknamed “Wild Bill” because of his service as an aviator during World War I, won the gold statue for Best Writing, Original StorY, for the original “A Star Is Born” in 1937.
….. Monte Kiffin: 1940 Occupation: Football Coach/Defensive Coordinator
The well-traveled coach is considered one of the best defensive minds in football. Father of the “Tampa 2” scheme, Kiffin was the defensiVe coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they won Super Bowl XXXVII.C̄L̄X̄ĪV̄DVI
….. Tony Robbins: 1960 Occupation: Motivational speaker
Tony Robbins (his birth name is Anthony J. Mahavoric) is a successFul author (“Unlimited Power” and “Awaken the Giant Within”) and motivational speaker who appears frequently on television infomercials.
… Way too deep in the rabbit hole … time to get way up above ground again! Let’s get going with a quick puzzle that will help lead to the cache!
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“Enough internet trivia, let’s get outside and geocache!” 👍🏻