Leap Day didn't stand out particular on the calendar. But considering that it only happened once every four years, Animalia Ambassadoria decided to do a brief shout-out for it. Courtney covered it, starting with a little history on this most unusual day.
"As everyone knows, a year is made up of 365 days. However, Earth's orbit around the sun is actually approximately 6 hours longer than a full 365 days. Of course, that wasn't discovered until much later, but the Romans did notice the seasons kept slipping. With the Julian reform of the calendar, they started adding extra days to February, which was the last month of the year at the time."
Courtney added an interesting bit of trivia regarding Leap Day. "In some countries, namely Ireland and Scotland, Leap Day is also known as Bachelor's Day. On this day, women are allowed to propose marriages. If the man refuses, he's either to buy her a new pair of gloves, a silk gown, fur coat, or preform a juggling trick on Easter Day."
That particular bit of news caused a bit of a stir. Many women who watched this broadcast proposed to their boyfriends with various degrees of seriousness. Many of them only did it as a joke, not expecting their boyfriends to be ready to commit yet. But plenty of women happily commented on their boyfriends accepting their proposal. Possibly the most replied-to comment was from Cadence. She had proposed to William Tarr, the acting mayor of Dinosaur City and going by recent polls, the most likely to be elected for a whole term. William didn't accept Cadence's proposal, nor did he reject it. He told her he needed more time to consider it. Cadence was content to wait, but she told him he had until Easter to decide. "I'm sure your prospective voters will be interested to see how well you can juggle," she told him teasingly.
There were also shout-outs to famous people who had the (mis)fortune to be born on Leap Day. There were a few fictional examples, such as Frederic from The Pirates of Penzance and Superman. There were also real celebrities who were born on February 29th, including Tim Powers, Tony Robbins, and Jessie T. Usher.
One particular relevant 'leap baby' for Animalians would be Stacey Sharpe. Stacey had been interested in becoming an Animalian ever since they first appeared almost four years ago. She had asked her parents repeatedly if she could become an Animalian ever since then. Her parents had misgivings about Animalia at first and told her to wait until her next birthday. Unfortunately for 12-year-old Stacey, being born on February 29 meant that she had to wait more than three years for her next birthday. Her parents had been rather exact about that.
But in hindsight, Stacey was glad she had to wait because it meant that more options became available for her. If she had converted right away, Stacey wasn't sure what kind of Animalian she wanted to be. That waiting had paid off because Stacey hadn't known that dinosaurs were a possibility. As far as Stacey was concerned, dinosaurs were the best animal that a person could ask for, considering that mythical creatures weren't possible.
And considering Stacey had such an extra-long wait until she could convert, she wanted to go the extra mile with her conversion. At 16 years old, she wanted to finish up puberty, so she insisted on a double dose. Considering she'd only be missing a few years of maturing, her parents capitulated. Furthermore, Stacey didn't want to become just any Dinotopian. While many viewed Heather Wilcox as a dangerous criminal, Stacey admired her for pioneering changes that were thought impossible. Having met Heather in person during Halloween and taken a selfie with her, Stacey thought Heather was more impressive than ever. So she was going to take a double-dose of Syntixisaurus Rex.
Of course, after her conversion, Stacey will be dealing with several adjustments. Being restricted to a carnivorous diet was one thing. She'll also have to manage her new hunting instincts, which could be potentially overwhelming. And of course, being double-dosed would mean her mating instincts would be kicking in. Especially with Syntixisaurus Rex breeding season right around the corner.