Feb. 29 comes around once every four years, and now Fred Shekoufeh is turning 15, while his son Eric is finally 5.
There is a 1 in 1,461 chance of having a leap year birthday, ABC News reports, and when Eric was born on Feb. 29, 1996, Fred's now-ex-wife told him the baby was his birthday present. "I realize how valuable it is to be born on this day," Fred told ABC News. "Mentally, I'm one of those guys who consider themselves young."
Eric, a student at UCLA, makes the most of his birthday situation during non-leap years, celebrating on both Feb. 28 and March 1, while Fred sticks to just Feb. 28. Eric said people often crack jokes when they find out he was born on Feb. 29, and "it's really cool when I actually do have a birthday. There's way less confusion."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The most notable records broken by Taylor SwiftIn Depth The pop star has cemented herself as one of the century's most popular artists
-
Gripping political thrillers to stream nowThe Week Recommends From power struggles to deadly conspiracies, these addictive shows are nail-bitingly tense
-
What to know before turning to AI for financial advicethe explainer It can help you crunch the numbers — but it might also pocket your data
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
