Today is the 29th of February, a day which occurs only once every four years. This is to compensate for the fact that it takes 365 1/4 days for the Earth to revolve around the Sun. In his book Calendar: Humanity's Epic Struggle to Determine a True and Accurate Year, David Ewing Duncan describes how the ancient Egyptians developed the system, of how in 238 BC, Ptolemy III ordered an extra day added to the 365-day calendar every four years, roughly two centuries before Julius Caesar ordered the same for the Romans. For today’s Friday Afternoon Moment of Whimsy, we find a town in Connecticut inhabited by people embroiled in a debate over whether the practice should be continued.

If the Egyptians were to develop a system of measuring time after listening to these morons, they would be hard pressed to reach a conclusion, as neither side makes much sense. Indeed, we might still be having problems with our calendar today. Fortunately, these otherwise hearty New Englanders probably don't venture away from the house much.

Thus civilization marches on with confidence.
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