How many seconds in a minute?

It's not a trick question, unless you're talking about 11:59 PM tonight. The last minute of 2008 will be 61 seconds long.

Immediately before midnight a leap second -- the first for three years -- will be added to atomic clocks around the world by official timekeepers.

Why?

"The difference between atomic time and Earth time has now built up to the point where it needs to be corrected, so this New Year's Eve we will experience a rare 61 second minute at the very end of 2008 and revelers... will have an extra second to celebrate."

Enjoy that extra second folks!