A calendar year, on Earth, is 365 days long. However, it takes a little more time than that for the Earth to complete its full revolution around the Sun—365.242374 days, to be precise. (A true "Earth Year" is 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, 1.1 seconds.) This small difference would add-up to 24 days in a century. After 100 years, the calendar would be off by nearly a month. Within 500 years, our Summers would be freezing cold!
So, in 46 BC, Julius Caesar instituted a leap day—an extra day added to the calendar every four years—on his new Julian Calendar. This "intercalary date" was still not quite right (the adjustment was too much). So Pope Gregory XIII instituted his Gregorian Calendar (in 1582 AD), which shaved-off the occasional Leap Day. Today, we observe Leap Days every four years, except at the Turn-of-the-Century. When the century turns with a "00" year (like 1800, 1900, 2000), the Leap Day is omitted, except every fourth century (those evenly divisible by 400). For this reason, the year 2000 had a Leap Day and 2100 (and 2200 and 2300) will not.
But that's too much math! Let's turn our attention to this "Lucky Toad"! He is beautifully sculpted, silver-plated, and plays the tune Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. He originally was designed as a gift for a newborn (perhaps as a Christening gift), but we have sold him mostly to people who collect toads and fabulous oddities. His "unapologetic wartiness" makes him a wonderful paperweight or desk accessory. Click on the photo above to learn more about him.
See you in four years!
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248