March 14, 2013

Happy Pi Day


March 14 is International Pi Day. Yes, Pi Day. And if you want to be uber celebratory, run around in a circle at 1:59 to celebrate Pi Minute.

Pi Day is the unofficial holiday that celebrates the mathematical constant pi (π) - the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, approximately 3.14159 - on March 14 in the month/day date format because the digits in this date correspond with the first three digits of π (3.14). It has become an international observance that is celebrated live and online and also celebrates Albert Einstein’s birthday.


How will you celebrate Pi Day? And perhaps Pi Minute?

Here are a few ideas from networkworld.com. 

Make a pi-themed pie
What tastes better than pie? A pi-themed pie on Pi Day, of course. The process to make a pi-themed pie is similar to the one used to make a regular pie, except one important difference - reserve some dough at the end to make a pi symbol to place on top. For complete directions, click here.

Go on a pi scavenger hunt
Pi is an endless number, so look for numbers that are important to you in the number. Search for your birthday, a family member's birthday or other important dates or numbers in pi. Pi goes on forever. For reference, click here for a list of the first 1,000,000 decimal places.

Read a book about pi
After a long day of celebrating Pi Day, perhaps all you will want to do is sit and read a nice pi book. There are a number of options, including the biography of Pi and the Joy of Pi, or perhaps you would like to read the story of Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi. And, if you don’t want to read about math, there is always the critically-acclaimed Life of Pi book by Yann Martel, which has very little to do with the number.

If you are interested in learning more about Pi Day, visit the official Pi Day website.

Have fun!