Happy Leap Day! In honor of Leap Day 2012, LIFE offers a gallery of pictures celebrating the simple act of leaping around, and the sense of boundless possibilities that one extra day on the calendar can sometimes ignite.

There's going to be a leap second on December 31 A leap second will be added to the clock on December 31, 2016. Leap seconds have been added every so often since 1972.

Leap second 2016: Why this New Year's Eve will have an extra second On Dec. 31, 2016, the international time keeping community will tack an additional second, known as a leap second, on to the last minute of the year.

What happens without leap years? Leap years, like the one this year, keep the calendar on track. Try for yourself: can you keep Jan. 1 close to the start of the solar year?

Why you should play hooky and go to Catalina for leap day: $29 boat ride, room or dinner Leap day is coming up at the end of the month, and Santa Catalina Island is hoping to see you on that "extra day" in 2016.

Forget Leap Year. What's a Leap Second? The leap second happens every few years when the standard time around the world is adjusted by one second to account for a slight mismatch between clocks and the earth’s rotation. And it has some exchanges and financial firms worried. WSJ's Stephan Read more ... ie Yang reports. Photo: AP

Andreessen Horowitz-Backed Leap Buses Are Hitting San Francisco’s Streets This Week Leap - Your daily commute. Redesigned. from Leap on Vimeo. It's been a year in the making. Transit startup Leap is finally launching in San Francisco..

This year's Y2K: 'Leap Second' threatens to break the Internet Leap seconds make Web software go haywire. And one is coming on June 30.

This year's Y2K: 'Leap Second' threatens to break the Internet Leap seconds make Web software go haywire.

Payroll 'leap year' will boost coffers for workers For many employees, 2015 is a pay period leap year, meaning that there are 27 pay periods during the 52-week calendar year instead of the usual 26. This quirk happens about every 11 years, delivering a cash bonanza for many workers.