No, not the kind you eat, silly! This is a numerical holiday.
In fact, it is a day that math geeks around the world enthusiastically celebrate. If you have ever watched an episode of the Big Bang Theory you know what I am talking about. Sheldon is such a math geek he probably has a parade even if its only around his living room. Ahhh…….. the wonders of math! I have to say I am clueless about anything beyond multiplying 12 X 12…. I am more of a creative right brain person who would rather solve deep philosophical puzzles than a math problem!
However, March 14th (PI Day) is not about philosophy. Its about Math.
In case you were wondering, Pi is the constant number used to calculate the area or circumference of a circle. It starts with 3.14159265 and continues to an infinite number of decimal places. Pi maniacs compete to see who can learn the longest string. According to Piday.com A Japanese mental health counselor holds the world record by reciting Pi to the 100,000th decimal place. The symbol for pi was first used in 1706 by William Jones, but was popular after it was adopted by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1737. Learn more about Pi. Crazy, inspiring stuff!
That also reminds me of the show NUMBERS. Even though I am not a math person, I have a great admiration for those who are. I love how Charlie can solve all the FBI’s problems with Math. Looks like the FBI could use more Charlie’s on their team.
Did you know that each year MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) releases its admission decisions at 1:59pm on Pi Day?
In 2009, the artwork on their homepage showcased pi day greetings, and in 1994, as part of an elaborate prank, students put a campus police car number “Pi” on top of the “Great Dome”.
It looks like MIT has figured out how to capitalize on PI DAY with publicity stunts!
For all the trekkies reading this, I found this really cool video of Spoke and Captain Kirk discussing PI to solve a problem. Check it out:
And the NerdGoddess on Etsy has some really cool Pi Earrings for those of you who’d like to show off your inner mathmetician and also your support of Pi Day.
(Source: http://www.piday.org/stuff/)
Oh, and today is also Albert Einstein’s Birthday! How appropriate!
*NEW!
