Happy leap day or year

[Daehawk]

Happy Leap Day. Why if you were born today you'd be 1 year old in 4 years.

I used to wonder as a child how they handled giving leap babies a drivers license lol.

[Jaymann]

Happy Leap Day. Why if you were born today you'd be 1 year old in 4 years.

I used to wonder as a child how they handled giving leap babies a drivers license lol.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the government will count 2/28 as your birthday in non leap years. Izzy?

[Unagi]

Happy Leap Day. Why if you were born today you'd be 1 year old in 4 years.

I used to wonder as a child how they handled giving leap babies a drivers license lol.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the government will count 2/28 as your birthday in non leap years. Izzy?

See, I would figure they would count it as March 1st - the day after 2/28 - what ever that may be.

[Jaymann]

I found two references (clear as mud):

Leap day babies, often referred to as leaplings, leapers or leapsters, typically choose to celebrate their birthday on Feb. 28 or March 1, according to TimeandDate.com. Leaplings often choose Feb. 28 as their birthday since it falls in the same month they are born in.

Many countries have laws defining which date a person born on Feb. 29 comes of age in legal terms, resulting in difficulties with birth certificates, driver's licenses and entry fields on websites, according to the Chronicle article.

Instead of timelines and calendars, how are “leapers” — those born on February 29 — affected legally by their unique situation?

Specifically, does a leaper turn 18 or 21 on February 28 or March 1?

Some states, but not all, have statutes that explicitly express which date is to be used. Nevertheless, one can make the determination for any state by simply looking at its common law.

Namely, if a state excludes the day of birth in age computation, March 1 is the date the leaper turns 18 or 21. If a state includes the day, then February 28 is the date (check out this American Law Reports article for a state-by-state list).

So, as silly as it may sometimes seem, legal disputes over leap years and leap days come up even today.

In short, you are fracked.

[Jaymann]

So theoretically, if you were turning 21, you could go to a bar and be served on 2/28, then drive across a state line and be refused.

[Daehawk]

And if you went by your real day of birth you'd never get any because 21 years later you'd be barely over 5

That would place a weird romantic spin on things. "How old is your other half/boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse?" "Oh they turned 5 this year"

[Unagi]

Why?
Every single 20 year old is 7305 days old - and so is a person born on Feb 29th. 365 days after that - they are 21.
How are they 5 years old? What is a year to you?

[Daehawk]

Why?
Every single 20 year old is 7305 days old - and so is a person born on Feb 29th. 365 days after that - they are 21.
How are they 5 years old? What is a year to you?

he is officially 5 if born on a leap year on Frb 29. It only coems around every 4 years. hence the calculations. And that if they officially legally chose to be birthday on that date..which probably none would.

[Unagi]

Why?
Every single 20 year old is 7305 days old - and so is a person born on Feb 29th. 365 days after that - they are 21.
How are they 5 years old? What is a year to you?

he is officially 5 if born on a leap year on Frb 29. It only coems around every 4 years. hence the calculations. And that if they officially legally chose to be birthday on that date..which probably none would.

5 what? 5 years? Isn't a year 365 days, or - 'A trip around the sun' ?

Are you telling me that he's only gone around the sun 5 times ?

[Daehawk]

You're not getting it. You're thinking is days. He may be a lot of days old but officially he would only be 5 years because the 29th only comes around every 4 years.

So born feb 29th. 4 years passes and feb 29th comes again. thats 1 year old. 4 years later it comes to the calendar again. he is 2 years old. It would 21 official years for him to reach age 5.

[LawBeefaroni]

You're not getting it. You're thinking is days. He may be a lot of days old but officially he would only be 5 years because the 29th only comes around every 4 years.

So born feb 29th. 4 years passes and feb 29th comes again. thats 1 year old. 4 years later it comes to the calendar again. he is 2 years old. It would 21 official years for him to reach age 5.

His dog, born on the same day, would be 35 so he could just have the dog buy the beer.

[em2nought]

It's the day women are allowed to ask men to marry them too. Luckily nobody asked me. dodged the bullet again!

[hepcat]

It’s the day I wake up to find out the software engineer of the energy efficiency software we developed for a major utility, costing them a fortune over the last few years, forgot to factor in Feb. 29 in the fiscal calendar for 2024…which brought all reporting to a screeching halt. Finally got an update script into the sql server to account for it, but it was not a fun morning.

[Isgrimnur]

Time/date math, am I right?

[Hrdina]

officially

[Unagi]

You're not getting it. You're thinking is days. He may be a lot of days old but officially he would only be 5 years because the 29th only comes around every 4 years.

So born feb 29th. 4 years passes and feb 29th comes again. thats 1 year old. 4 years later it comes to the calendar again. he is 2 years old. It would 21 official years for him to reach age 5.

I get what you are saying just fine. It's you that's being obtuse here.

When your birthday or anniversary is on a leap year - it's true that you only see your birthday or anniversary every 4 years.

You are pretending that means someone is not a certain number of years old.

A year is defined a couple of ways (in seconds or in terms of the orbit) - None of them allow for the definition you are pretending is "Official".

Again. I get it. Your way is super fun and silly and makes a 20-year-old man only Five Years Old !!! HAR!!! But, I think the point is sophomoric.

I mean you no insult. I don't mean to be rude. I just always find this point abrasive to my brain.

[Unagi]

So born feb 29th. 4 years passes and feb 29th comes again. thats 1 year old.

See, even you say "4 years pass". You can't escape it's definition - you even needed to use it to make your point.

[Jaymann]

It's Daehawktown, Jake.

[TheMix]

It has also been "done". Let me help you, Dae, with the required distinction.

The Pirates of Penzance

The story concerns Frederic, who, having completed his 21st year, is released from his apprenticeship to a band of tender-hearted pirates. He meets the daughters of Major-General Stanley, including Mabel, and the two young people fall instantly in love. Frederic soon learns, however, that he was born on 29 February, and so, technically, he has a birthday only once each leap year. His indenture specifies that he remain apprenticed to the pirates until his "twenty-first birthday", meaning that he must serve for another 63 years.[2] Bound by his own sense of duty, Frederic's only solace is that Mabel agrees to wait for him faithfully.

I've highlighted the relevant part. So, for Daehawk, if something specified that the person must celebrate a given number of birthdays, then your logic might apply. But it does not apply to the number of years a person has lived/is old.

Personally, I think even The Pirates of Penzance situation wouldn't hold up. By saying his 21st birthday, I think the argument would be that it equates to years. But, for example, something in a fantasy setting where a witch casts a curse that says it lasts for until the person has celebrated 10 birthdays? That might work. Since it removes "years" from the equation.

[msteelers]

We just got back from a cruise celebrating my wife’s best friend’s birthday. She’s a leap year baby, so we tend to do something special on her leap year birthdays.

FWIW, she chooses to celebrate her birthday on 2/28 on the off years. And we joked that for her 64th birthday my wife will have to throw her a sweet 16 birthday party.