Why Do We Get a Leap Day Every Four Years?

Feb 29 2024

Every four years, we get an extra day added to our calendar, making February 29th a special day known as a leap day. But why do we do this? It’s all about keeping our clocks and calendars in sync with Earth’s journey around the Sun.

You see, it doesn’t take exactly 365 days for the Earth to orbit the Sun. It takes about 365.24 days. This extra bit of time, about a quarter of a day each year, adds up. Without fixing this, our calendar would slowly fall out of step with the seasons. Imagine summer starting in what our calendar calls winter, after many years without correction!

To stop this from happening, we add one extra day every four years to catch up with the extra time. This is what we call a leap year. This idea has been around for a long time. It started with the Julian Calendar over 2,000 years ago and was tweaked a bit when we switched to the Gregorian Calendar, which most of the world uses today.

So, leap years help make sure that our calendars keep matching up with the Earth’s trip around the Sun, keeping seasons and timekeeping accurate for everyone.

Do you know someone with their birthday on a leap day.

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Chicken Vs. Egg: Scientists Finally Reveal Which Came First

Feb 29 2024

The question of whether the chicken or the egg came first is a tale as old as time. Throughout history, philosophers and scientists have pondered over this riddle, seeking answers in theology, biology, and evolution… but scientists have finally given us the answer.

Notably, Christian philosophers like Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas posited that the chicken came first, created by God as part of the animal kingdom. However, a modern scientific twist to this age-old question has been provided by researchers from BBC Science, shedding light on the debate with evolutionary evidence.

According to scientists, the answer leans in favour of the egg. “Eggs are much older than chickens,” they argue, pointing out that dinosaurs, the predecessors of modern birds, laid eggs long before chickens appeared on the scene. They explain, “Dinosaurs laid eggs, the fish that first crawled out of the sea laid eggs, and the weird articulated monsters that swam in the warm shallow seas of the Cambrian Period 500 million years ago also laid eggs.” In contrast, domestic chickens, as we know them today, only started appearing around 10,000 years ago.

BBC Science Focus’s Luis Villazon further clarifies, “But it doesn’t matter; at some point in evolutionary history when there were no chickens, two birds that were almost-but-not-quite chickens mated and laid an egg that hatched into the first chicken.” This explanation underscores the evolutionary process, suggesting that the egg predates the chicken, albeit the egg in question wasn’t laid by a chicken as we recognise today.

Are you satisfied with the answer?

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New MRI Machine for Gozo General Hospital

Feb 29 2024

The Gozo General Hospital has received a new MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine, as announced by the Minister for Health and Active Ageing, Jo Etienne Abela.

This development marks an improvement in the healthcare services available on the island, providing residents with enhanced diagnostic capabilities locally.

The news of the new MRI machine was met with widespread approval on social media, garnering hundreds of likes and comments in around two hours.

The addition of this state-of-the-art equipment is seen as a crucial step towards advancing medical care and reducing the need for patients to travel to larger facilities for comprehensive diagnostic procedures.

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Master Chef Malta Should Go Vegan, Animal Rights Organisation Suggests

Feb 29 2024

Animal Liberation Malta (ALM) has recently made a call for the popular TV show Master Chef Malta to embrace veganism, echoing practices adopted by Michelin-starred and renowned plant-based restaurants.

This appeal comes in the wake of last Sunday’s episode, which an argument from the animal rights organisation In the episode, contestants were faced with the task of preparing dishes using 12 de-skinned rabbits. The presentation of these animals not only left some of the participants shocked but also ignited a broader conversation about the ethics of using animals as food amongst the vegan community.

ALM’s statement highlighted a fundamental disconnect in how people generally perceive meat versus the animals it comes from. They stated, “Well, on the daily basis people dissociate meat (which comes from animals) and the animal itself. When one doesn’t look into the eyes of the animal, it’s easy to treat a ‘piece of meat’ as an object, but when looking directly into the eye, a sense of morality arises in one’s mind. Is this fair? Is it fair that just for a ‘challenge’ 12 lives, 12 rabbits, had to go through such horrific pain and fright?”

ALM’s message calls for a reevaluation of culinary practices, urging for a shift towards more ethical and compassionate choices in the culinary world.

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