365¼

Question:

How long does it take the earth to travel around the sun?

Answer:

Approximately, 365 and a quarter days.

Or, to be more precise:

365.2422

Of course, for three out of every four years, we live through 365 days a year, and 366 in the fourth – this leap year enabling us to “catch up”.

As a kid, thinking of all the birthday presents I’d go without (I was a materialist heathen from an early age!), I felt lucky not to have been born on 29 February – the extra day in a leap year – whereas, today, what I wouldn’t give to be only one year older every four years! How ridiculous, eh?

Talking of the ridiculous, did you know that there are 365 negative commandments in the Jewish faith? Or that, in Gnosticism, in Greek notation, the letters of the deity Abraxas make up the number 365? Or that, 365 signifies the levels of heaven? No, me neither.

A Canadian friend once told me that a provisional driving licence there was known as a “365” because it was valid for 365 days, which doesn’t seem ridiculous at all.

Google “365 and a quarter turns” (not days, but, hey, what’s in a word?) and you’ll find this reference at Feast of Fools to a sexual act between Clay Aiken (pictured) – the US singer, and 2007 American Idol finalist – and a former Green Beret turned real-estate agent, John Paulus! I won’t go into the details here but, suffice to say, at the time, Aiken denied he was gay though, interestingly, he didn’t sue because, as the lovely boys at Feast of Fools revealed:

[Paulus] had accidentally pulled a “Lewinsky” and had DNA evidence of his love affair with Mr. Aiken.

Nice!

In September, however – and better late than never – on the cover of People magazine, Aiken finally came out as gay.

Well, Daniel and I are off to try out some 365 quarter turning. It is a leap year, after all!