February 29: An exceptional day

The 29th of February doesn’t come along every year! In fact, this date occurs only in a leap year, that is, a year that contains 366 days instead of the usual 365. Find out how much you know about this exceptional day with our leap year quiz!

1. Another name for leap year is

intercalorie year

intercalary year

intercalendar year

2. The name leap year is thought to come from the fact that

couples marrying in a leap year would leap over a candle for luck

crops were believed to “leap forth” abundantly in a leap year

holidays “leap” over a day in a leap year

3. In French, the term for leap year is

année bissextile

année lunaire

année-lumière

4. Will the year 2100 be a leap year?

Yes

No

5. It takes about 365.24 days for the to revolve around the .

earth, Sun

Earth, sun

earth, sun

6. What is the standard abbreviation for February?

feb.

Feb.

Febr.

7. What does the word calends mean?

the middle day of the month

the last day of the month

the first day of the month

8. What do the words Julian and Gregorian refer to in the terms Julian calendar and Gregorian calendar?

to two celestial bodies

to two people

to two religions

9. Fill in the blank: An old Scottish proverb claims that “A leap year is never a good year.”

sheep

beer

beef

10. True or False? Someone born on February 29 ages four times more slowly than a person born on any other day of the year.

True

False