We love the why behind everything, not just chemistry. This being our 20th Leap Year since incorporating in 1947, we’ve collected quite a bit of information about the why behind the calendar.
💫 Our 5 Favorite Leap Year Facts 💫
1️⃣ The Roman calendar consisted of 10 months plus a period that lasted however long winter was lasting (fast forward – this is now January and February). It wasn’t long before the Romans realized that their calendar was off with the solar year, which affected seasons, holidays and crops.
The Romans accounted for this long stretch by creating a 23-day intercalary month called Mercedonius. This month was inserted into February, but it’s unclear why. Researcher’s best guess? Something to do with lunar cycles. 🌑
The consuls were the ones who decided when Mercedonius would be included in the calendar and when it would not. Giving the government the ability to shorten or extend the year to benefit their own political ends. (Source: History Channel)
2️⃣ Julius Caesar became familiar with the Egyptian solar calendar which had 365 days. It also sometimes had an intercalary month that was inserted based on the correct conditions of the stars. ⭐
Caesar worked with Sosigenes of Alexandria, a Greek astronomer and mathematician, on a new Roman calendar modified from the Egyptian calendar. Instead of looking at star conditions, they added a day to February every four years.
📅This new Julian Calendar took its place in history on January 1, 45 BCE.
3️⃣ While it’s impressive that ancient calendars knew that they couldn’t follow the same calendar every year, they didn’t get the math exactly right.
According to the Smithsonian, it takes the earth 365.242190 days to orbit the sun, or 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 56 seconds. ☀ If we left these 5+ hours unaccounted for, in 700 years we would be seeing summer start in December.
4️⃣ Leap year does not occur once every four years. The rule is: if the year is divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400, the leap year is skipped.
The year 2000 was a leap year. However, the years 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not leap years. The next leap year that will be skipped is the year 2100. 📅
WHY? Because of rounding.
Adding an extra day to the calendar every four years equals 23.262222 hours. So, leap years actually make every calendar longer by 44+ minutes. We need to skip years every so often to make sure the seasons don’t drift on the calendars. (Source: Simsonian)
5️⃣ After all that math and history, you’ll be happy to know Leap Year has an official cocktail. 🍸
Harry Craddock, a bartender at the Savory Hotel in Des Moines, Iowa, created the Leap Year Cocktail on leap day in 1928.
The origin story and recipe are documented in the Savory Cocktail Book, written by Craddock and published in 1930. This cocktail manual is still popular and in circulation today. (Recipe below.)
#LeapYear #2024 #BeverageIndustry #FoodAndBeverageIndustry
