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From: gordonc@iea.com (Gordon Clausen)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Feb 30, 2000 - UL or fact?
Date: 6 Mar 1996 07:19:14 GMT

In article <4h82j8$ojm@netaxs.com>, mheinz@ssw.com8 says...

>No. No. No. You're right, 2000 will be a plain old leap year. Either
>your brother-in-law or the newscasters were sniffing glue. I'll give
>your b-i-l the benefit of the doubt, though, and blame the news crew -
>because (drum roll, please)

You are correct, of course. Here's the "official" word on the subject from the Science and Engineering Research Council at Royal Greenwich Observatory:

Information Leaflet No. 52: `The Year 2000 AD'

THE YEAR 2000 AD.

The year 2000 AD will be a notable one. Many people are asking the questions, `Will 2000 be a leap-year?' and `Will it be the start of the new millenium?'

Leap-years were introduced into the calendar by Julius Caesar. They are necessary as the length of the year is not an integral number of days. The Julian calendar uses the fact that the length of the year is close to 365 and a quarter days. So a basic year with 365 days with an additional extra day every fourth year will give a good approximation.

This calendar was used until the 16th century when the small discrepancy between the approximate length of the year, 365.25 days, and the true length, 365.24219 days, added up to several days. Pope Gregory realised that this meant that the date of Easter would eventually not fall in the spring but would become closer and closer to Dec 25, Christmas.

In 1582 the Gregorian calendar was instituted. It changed the rule for determining whether a year should be a leap-year by stating that century years should only be leap years if they were divisible by 400. The effect of this is to make the adopted average year-length 365.2425 days, an approximation that will only amount to one day's error after 4000 years.

Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752 when september 2nd was followed by September 14th. We still use the Gregorian calendar and so the year 2000, which is divisible by 400, will be a leap-year.

<stuff concerning the millenium deleted 'cause that's a whole different
thread>

------end of quoted text------

I have my own idea for reforming the calendar, which I will probably never get to implement because I don't think I'll ever be Pope since I'm not Catholic, (or Christian).

I say that we abandon months altogether. I know it is a derivation of the lunar cycle, but it's not even close. Let's have just four seasons with thirteen weeks each. This gives us 364 days. Every year there is a holiday, Earth Orbit Day, which belongs to no particular day of the week. The leap day would also not be a day of the week.

OK, so far I got this from the late Isaac Asimov. My idea has a twist in which we keep the months by dividing each of the thirteen week seasons into three four week "months" followed by a season/quarter ending holiday week, perhaps to celebrate/honor the soltices & equinoxi. We get the advantage of having a simple calendar that anyone can remember, e.g. the 15th of any month is always a Sunday, etc. but we don't have to deal with 91 day months.

This calendar also has the advantage of having at least 29.25 holidays!

Gordon Clausen          God is a comedian playing to an audience
gordonc@iea.com         too afraid to laugh. - Voltaire