Circle up, math geeks! It's Pi Day
March 14 is a day to honor one of our most beloved decimals--with jewelery, revelry, and, of course, pie. How will you celebrate?
- Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
In Massachusetts today, hundreds of apple pies are being delivered to math and science teachers within a 3.14-mile radius of the Raytheon headquarters in Waltham. If that first sentence didn't clue you in as to why, then you aren't living up to your mathletic potential.
Yes, number geeks, it's 3/14, the 22nd year the date has officially been observed as Pi Day, in honor of that trigonometric wunderkind also known as 22/7. The first Pi Day observation was spearheaded by the San Francisco Exploratorium, but the museum is closed on Mondays, so this year it's up to the rest of us to pick up the slack.
Fortunately, there's no shortage of pi celebrations taking place around the world:
- One of the biggest pi parties today takes place at Princeton University, where the day is also celebrated as Albert Einstein's birthday. It's all part of Princeton's Geek Freak celebration, which wraps up today--plenty of pies and Einstein look-alikes are on hand.
- If you're part of the Silicon Valley start-up scene, there's a SXSW Pi Day party at the British Bankers Club in Menlo Park with the requisite pi recitation contest.
- The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla., is offering discounts today (Salvador was a big pi fan), and in Tampa at the Museum of Science and Industry you can take the Pi Day challenge, solve a series of logic-based puzzles, and get in for free.
- But pi isn't just for number geeks, it's also the inspiration for several artistic endeavors this year, including this bit of domino performance art...
- ...and ""="" rel="">What Pi Sounds Like," which has already gone viral.
Finally, no holiday, even an arithmetical one, would be complete without commemorative merchandise. For the particularly nerdy sweetheart in your life, we recommend this cuff bracelet with pi etched in brass. For a more low-key gift, pi ice cubes are perfect for geeks who needs to cool down after working themselves up into a pi-induced frenzy.
