Happy Birthday?

I feel sorry for the people who were born on February 29th. Apparently, they can celebrate their birthdays on February 28th or March 1st. Really though, their birthday wouldn't be the 28th, it would be today. The problem is, today is March 1st, not the 29th which is the date they were born. The reality is that every 4 years they get to celebrate a real birthday and the other years, it must feel like kind of a sham.

Last fall, Brian and his family traveled to Australia. It takes about 24 hours to get there, and Brisbane, Australia is roughly 13 hours ahead of Philly. This means if you were to leave today, March 1st, and even though it was only about a 24 hour trip, you would land on March 3rd, totally missing March 2nd. I don't mean to get all Doc Brown (Back to the Future reference for you kids who don't understand), but you have just traveled to the future. On the way back it can work out that you repeat the day.

I bring this all up as a recommendation for those February 29th Birthday celebrators. I say in 2012, go to Australia the week before your birthday. Live it up and take in the sites: visit Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, reenact scenes from Crocodile Dundee, and check out the Outback Steakhouse in Wollongong. On the 29th, have a birthday party in the morning and invite all of your new Aussie friends. Then at 12 PM head back to the US. When you land it will be about 9 PM on the 29th again, and you can celebrate another day. Whatever you do though, if you're birthday is on February 29th, DO NOT plan a flight to Australia on the 28th!

I'm pretty sure I did the math on this correctly, but if not I'm sorry, especially if this blog rips a hole in the space time continuum. I'm just trying to help make up for some lost Birthdays. In 2012, you can have a little more cake and feel like less of a fraud.

Dave