U.S.MILDLY IMPORTANT

How an accelerating Earth led experts to adopt the leap hour

Delegates from sixty-nine countries voted on Thursday to retire the leap second, though the first leap hour is not expected for thousands of years; plenty of time to dread it.

On air: Dale Bearman and Vera Bullock on BBN Overnight
Published 1:16 AM ET, Friday, October 16, 2026

Photo: US Government / NIST · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

▶ As it aired · U.S.

Watch it as it aired: Dale Bearman and Vera Bullock on this story, from BBN Overnight at 1:16 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The Guardian's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: US Government / NIST · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

Photo: Leap second — Photo: US Government / NIST · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

At a glance

First reported by The Guardian: “How an accelerating Earth led experts to adopt the leap hour”.
Covered on BBN on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 1:16 AM ET on BBN Overnight, by Dale Bearman and Vera Bullock; aired 2 times.
Topics: Earth.
BBN covered this story before: Timekeepers vote to replace the leap second with a leap hour (October 15).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

The GuardianHow an accelerating Earth led experts to adopt the leap hour

What BBN said about it

Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorOn October fifteenth, 2026, delegates from sixty-nine countries voted to replace the leap second with a leap hour, and I want everyone to sit down, because an entire hour is coming.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe Guardian says the first leap hour is not likely to happen for thousands of years, Dale. It's a lovely, calm plan.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorThousands of years. So the clocks get a head start on ruining us, and we've signed off on it.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe delegates said the leap second was a tiresome correction that worried people for decades because of computer systems. They've fixed it.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorFixed. Somebody has to be nervous in the year four thousand, and I've volunteered.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorYou won't be there.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorI'll leave a note on the clock. Strongly worded, and absolutely unhinged from thousands of years of worry.

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