It’s time to talk about leap seconds. (pun alert)
Every few years, scientists add a leap second to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) so that it matches the rotation of the Earth, which is slowing down. If we didn’t make adjustments to our clocks, we’d be noticably off in a few thousand years. (Not by a lot, though. When the Chicxulub impactor wiped out the dinosaurs (except for birds,) 66 million years ago, the Earth day was about 23 hours long.)
These leap seconds are rarely added, and no one notices when they are because we don’t measure our day-to-day life that precisely. However, computers do notice, and that is one of the reasons why some scientists think leap seconds shouldn’t be added. It might mess with precise programming.
Other scientists think it is necessary. They have many reasons, including that sundials would never work properly again. Clearly, that’s a big problem.
Leap seconds are added on either June 30th or December 31st. One was scheduled for the end of 2019, but it didn’t happen, so the last one added was in 2016. There probably won’t be one in 2020, but since I couldn’t find the next scheduled one, anything could happen.
I like the idea of a leap second. It makes a lot more sense than Daylight Saving Time.