This animation shows what would happen if leap years didn’t exist

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VOX:

For the first time in four years, February has 29 days. That’s right folks, it’s a leap year, and it’s an exciting time.

Leap years always coincide with the summer Olympic Games and the US presidential election. There’s so much going on this year, we could really use the extra day.

The simple (and only) explanation for why we have leap days is that it takes 365.2422 days for our planet to complete one revolution around the sun. That means each 365-day year ends a quarter day’s worth short of the complete orbit.

Good explainer of leap years.