Leap Year
It's a bit of a strange concept, leap year. Strange, but enormously convenient. This quadannual correction serves as a reminder that our global calendar isn't quite as orderly as we'd like to believe.
Think about it for a moment. If we were to eliminate leap year for just one century, we'd throw off our calendrical alignment with the earth's revolutions around the sun. By skipping 24 days over 100 years, our notion of seasons would be behind by nearly a month. Opt out of leaping for a mere 500 years, and suddenly dreary February weather would assume the pleasantness of May.
On a long enough timeline, the familiar relationship between months and seasons would become irrelevant as summer months became winter and vice versa.
The United Kingdom and parts of the U.S. were well on their way to such seasonal limbo until 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was adopted to replace the Julian. This seemingly innocuous transition required that everyone involved simply agree to skip 11 days. So in 1752, Wednesday, September 2 was followed immediately by Thursday, September 14, much to the delight of thousands of husbands who would have otherwise forgotten anniversaries.
So next time you're not thrilled about an extra day in February, consider the chaotic alternatives. Instead, graciously embrace your extra day and take solace in this: lovely March begins tomorrow.