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Re: Ponte Alto Baronial Birthday



On Fri, 3 Feb 1995, Carole Stoops wrote:

> > > The second one will be in 2000. 2000 is also a leap year.
> > > 
> > > Corwyn
> > > 
> > ***bzzzt***  Sorry, but thank you for playing.  The year 2000
> > is not a leap year.  Every now and then they have to skip one
> > to get things back on track.  (Anyone want to better explain it?)
> 
> Leap years occur in all years divisible by four EXCEPT when the year ends 
> in a double zero.  The year is not exactly 365 days and 6 hours long; it 
> is slightly less, so we need a leap day slightly less often.  (There is 
> also a leap second occasionally, when needed.)
> 
> I did a science project on timekeeping back in sixth grade, which was 
> when I learned all this stuff.  It was really a history of science 
> project, but they okayed it.  I made a sundial, water clock, sand clock, 
> did some pendulum experiments, etc., and had flats explaining Daylight 
> Savings Time, leap years, etc.

I hate to say this, MiLady, but you did not study hard enough. I studyed 
this for writing software that must cross the century mark. Here is a 
quote from "The New Book of Knowledge" (the same info can be had from any 
good reference):

"To make up the extra time, one day is added to the calendar every 4 
years. That day becomes February 29. A leap year thus has 366 days. Leap 
year comes in years whose number can be divided by four (such as 1984, 
1988, and 1992). The exceptions to this rule are century years (1800, 
1900, and so on). A century year is a leap year only if it can be divided 
by 400."

This agrees with Pope Gregory XIII, who proposed the current calendar in 
1582, the year he also dropped 10 days from the calendar to make it 
correspond with the seasons.

This conversation has suddenly become period, no?

Corwyn