A slice of Pi, please?

If you tell people that it's Pi Day, they might, understandably, think apple or banana cream. Maybe pumpkin. Mmm. I could go on and on.

But not so fast.

March 14 (Get it? 3-14, as in 3.14) is Pi Day -- not -- sorry -- Pie Day. In fact, it's the 20th annual Pi Day. And no, schools are not closed.

The Greek letter is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, known to all high school math students as well as geeks everywhere: 3.1415926535 and on and on.

The first Pi Day was held in San Francisco, at the Exploratorium. Larry Shaw, a physicist and Pi Day creator, pictured below, says people on Friday will walk around the Pi shrine approximately 3.14 times, and, among other things, eat pie.

In a cosmically correct note, Friday is also Einstein's birthday. Let us know how you will be celebrating Pi Day.

(The photo at left was taken by Amy Snyder and the pi/pie photo was taken by David Barker. They were supplied by the Exploratorium.)

-- Mary MacVean

Comments

[kaitlyn]

I'll be wearing my Pi Day tshirt, drinking from my key lime pi mug, while I wait for the Giant Pi to drop at MathematiciansPictures.com and watching the World Federation of Pi Pi Day video while I wait. I also might go to the Pi-O-Matic at the Pi Diner and get some Pi - maybe a light meal of a million digits or so. Pi Day perfection.

[Leslie Patterson]

For those folks who can't get to the Exploratorium for the annual PI Day celebration--such as singing PI songs,creating a Rube Goldberg-like PI chain reaction, eating pie, throwing cream pies in 3 staffers' faces while a physicist talks about PI in the trajectory--they can visit the Exploratorium and its alter ego 'Splo in Second Life. Check out PI Day activities and PI Day art--e.g., the PI-eta, the Leaning Tower of Pi-za. Among the visitors coming to the Exploratorium on PI Day will be a Google Dad, his artist wife and their infant son, PI.

[Dan H]

I think it's great what Shaw & those at the Exploratorium have done to bring about awareness for Pi & math. It's great that thousands of people hear about Pi, and learn about circles and other math concepts at least once a year. And, associating that with a slice of apple or rhubarb pie is... yummy.

[Trixie]

I always loved Pi day -- until I found out it was math! Guh.

[DJ]

If we are to be artithmetically correct, in the interest of precision,shouldn't the celebration be held at about 3:35 am or so, which would be exactly 3.1416?

[Superdave]

Man, I've been running around in circles all day.

[Emerson]

You have to eat a square piece of pie at 1:59 PM. Pie are squared!!!