Actually, the opposite is true. Every 400 years is a leap century.
The year 2000 will be a "leap century" because it is divisible by 400 and
will have a February 29th. Any double 0 years not divisible by 400 (even
thought they are divisible by 4) are not leap years.
Because the year is not exactly 365 days long (it's
actually 356.242 days), extra
days are added every once in a while to even things
out. We all know that every
fourth year has an extra day, February 29. Adding an
extra day every four years
gives us an extra 0.25 days per year catch up, which
is a little too much to make up for
the extra .242 needed. For this reason, years that
end in 00 are generally NOT
leap years. Once every 400 years, though, the
century year IS a leap year. So
2000 is a leap year, even though 1700, 1800, and 1900
were not. Some
computer programs automatically assume a century year
like 2000 will not be a
leap year.
Does this mean we might also have a hiccup on Feb. 29th next year (i.e., on
some computers, the day will not exist)?
> ----------
> From: janet paterson[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Sunday, August 15, 1999 7:09 PM
> Subject: Y2K 'Quick Fix' for Windows (NOT!)
>
>
> Another message claims that the year 2000 will be a double leap year
> wherein the month of February will have 30 days. Since this only happens
> once every 400 years (says the email), children born on that day will die
> without ever having a birthday.
>
> Arguably, a life without birthdays is much less dire than life without a
> functioning VCR, but in any case this is a hoax. February 2000 will be a
> garden variety leap year with 29 days, no more.
>
