Ok, so 2008 was a really long year.

And of course I'm not speaking figuratively. I don't do that unless I have to. I'm not talking about the war, the leadership, the financial problems, or the jobless rate.

I'm speaking in real terms. 2008 was an exceptionally long year.

First off, it was a leap year, which makes it automatically longer than 75% of all other years. Secondly, a second was added at the end of 2008- referred to as a 'leap second' - to bring our clocks back in sync with the rotation of the Earth.

This isn't the only time this has happened, but it's been fairly rare. The last time it happened was 1992 - interestingly, right after the last war in the middle east. We also had an extra long year in 1976, being a leap year with a leap second added.

The longest year on record, though, was 1972- when the first-ever leap second adjustment was made, due to a 10 second difference. That must have felt like forever.