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HOW DID WE GET AN EXTRA DAY?

Thursday, February 22, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we learn about a 2,200-year-old slab that provides clues on how that extra “leap” day began, predict morning migraines, discover how tango took the world by storm … and examine who the real Merlin was.

A detail of a 3rd-century B.C. copy of the Canopus Decree written in Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic script, with an ancient Greek translation beneath. It provides the world's first record of a leap year.

PHOTOGRAPH BY G. DAGLI ORTI, NPL - DEA PICTURE LIBRARY/ BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

Even the best calendar makers in the ancient world knew something was off. More than 2,200 years ago, an edict went out fixing it.

One extra day every four years. (Above, a detail of a 3rd-century B.C. copy of the Canopus Decree that provides the world's first record of a leap year.)

Even that solution needed some tweaking, but it was the best we had. This leap day was vulnerable to politics and religion, and it took emperors and kings to make it so.

AN IMPERFECT SOLUTION

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Dancers perform tango's signature moves, cuts (cortes) and breaks (quebradas), in this 1910 postcard.

AKB/ALBUM

Sensual and scandalous: How tango took the world by storm (Pictured above, dancers performing tango's signature moves.)

When was the First Sack of Rome, really?

The true history of Einstein's role in developing the atomic bomb

What triggers morning migraines? Scientists might now know.

How ultra-processed food messes up your body

How the additives in your vaccines rev up your immune system

Who was the real Merlin?

How to keep your memory sharp as you age

The key to solving chronic fatigue is … your gut

Inspired by Jane Goodall, 3 Nat Geo Explorers are chosen for new Wildlife Intelligence Project funding

A new study shows long COVID can destroy your ability to exercise

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

An illustration of a séance with the Fox sisters seated, a table floating, and a man in disbelief

AKG/ALBUM

I hear dead people: Supposed communication with the dead, in séances and other demonstrations, gained popularity during the 19th century—though some of the practitioners were exposed as frauds. (The illustration above depicts seated sisters, Maggie and Kate Fox, leading a séance that includes a floating table and a man watching in disbelief.) What tricks did these spiritualists use?

A. Cracking joints to create rapping sounds
B. Double exposure photography to produce a supposed ghost
C. Purported “automatic writing” through a medium of a dead person
D. All of the above

CLICK FOR—VOILA!—THE ANSWER

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

An illustration of a humpback whale shows its pink, u-shaped larynx.

PAINTING BY PATRICIA JAQUELINE MATIC

The mystery of whale song … solved? For a creature that needs oxygen, how can whales possibly sing underwater without drowning? Scientists have discovered new insights into the baleen whales’ anatomy that finally tell us how. (The answer is illustrated in the painting, above).

BABY BELUGA IN
THE DEEP BLUE SEA

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A woman's face, seen from below, surrounded by ice cubes as she plunges her face into a bowl of ice water

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK THIESSEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Do ice facials (above) actually work? We search for answers. While ice can relieve swelling, its benefits have not been validated in preventing wrinkles and fine lines. According to experts, rubbing an ice cube all over your face may not be the skincare solution for everyone. Here’s what we know.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Today’s soundtrack: Don’t Forget Me, Maggie Rogers

We hope this newsletter brightened your Thursday! It was curated and edited by David Beard, Nancy San Martín, Jen Tse, and Nishita Naga. Know someone who might want our newsletter in their inbox? Here’s the signup. See you tomorrow!

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