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On the Shelf

By Paul Guffin

2 min read

Leap Year: The Quiz

As I’m guessing most of us know, 2024 is a leap year, which makes February 29 a leap day. That day will happen in two weeks, on Thursday, which just happens to be the day that The Mountain Messenger comes to us hot off the presses. So, in preparation for that somewhat rare occasion, here is a leap year quiz, to which the answers will be provided in this column on that special day. Let’s go….

  1. Where did the concept of “leap year” originate?
  2. What does the term “leap year” mean?
  3. What are other terms for “leap year”?
  4. How many leap years are there in a century?
  5. Who can “leap tall buildings at a single bound”?
  6. Who wrote a story about a leaping amphibian in California, and what was the name of the tale?
  7. What children’s game consists of vaulting over each other’s backs? When was the last time you played this game?
  8. What was the Great Leap Forward?
  9. What animated movie tells the story of a young orphaned girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina?
  10. If a person is born in the United States on February 29, 2024, and assuming (solely for the sake of this question) that only years containing February 29 are counted as birthdays, when would that person be eligible to be a candidate for President of the United States?
  11. If a person was born on February 29, 1946 (my year of birth), how old would they be on February 29, 2046?
  12. What other fairly common uses can you think of for the term “leap” (in any of its grammatical variations)?

The Downieville Library Congratulates the Poetry Out Loud Contestants

On February 7, five courageous students took part in the Poetry Out Loud Sierra County Finals. Here they are, with the poems they memorized and recited:

  • Isaac Andaluz (senior, Loyalton HS)
    • “Zoom!”, by Simon Armitage
    • “The Light of the Stars”, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  • Lily Antrim (sophomore, Downieville HS)
    • “Confessions”, by Robert Browning
    • “Abandoned Farmhouse”, by Ted Kooser
  • Sienna Larrucea (freshman, Loyalton HS)
    • “Ah! Why Because the Dazzling Sun”, by Emily Bronte
    • “Words”, by Pauli Murray
  • Abigail Sainsbury (senior, Downieville HS)
    • “Dawn”, by Ella Higginson
    • “Among Women”, by Marie Ponsot
  • Kaydance Stringer (freshman, Downieville HS)
    • “If We Must Die”, by Claude McKay
    • “Dream of the Raven”, by Ada Limón