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Leap Year Fun Facts

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10 leap year fun facts and traditions

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By Ben Miller, Ph.D.

LeapFrog Learning Expert

Ben is an expert in education and technology on LeapFrog's Learning Team, where he blends curriculum and interactivity into products that promote playful learning experiences. Before joining LeapFrog, he was an instructional designer at ACT, Inc. and a child life specialist at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. Ben earned his doctorate in educational psychology and learning sciences at the University of Iowa.
  1. Without leap day, our calendar would be off by about 24 days every century, or every 100 years!
  2. The first leap year was introduced in 46 BCE by Julius Caesar of Rome.
  3. People born on a Leap Day are sometimes called leaplings.
  4. More than 4 million people around the world are leaplings.
  5. On non-leap years, some leaplings choose to celebrate their birthdays a day early on February 28, while others choose to celebrate a day later on March 1.
  6. There is an international club for leaplings! The Honor Society of Leap Year Babies has over 10,000 members worldwide.
  7. Some cultures that use a lunar calendar – a calendar that is based on the moon’s movement - add a whole leap month every three years.
  8. The Summer Olympic Games are held every four years on leap years.
  9. Since 2024 was a leap year, the next leap year will be in 2028. That means the next leap day is 1461 days away! 
  10. There are 525,600 minutes in a typical calendar year. On leap years, there are 527,040 minutes. What will you do with the extra 1,440 minutes this leap year?

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