Happy Pi Day – where mathematicians and foodies unite and celebrate the beautifully irrational number of pi and enjoy a slice of the edible kind.
Pi (π) was first used 4,000 years ago by the ancient Babylonians. Now, studies surrounding the number begin in middle school.
Pi – frequently rounded down to 3.14 – is the ratio of a circle’s circumference compared to its diameter; the distance around the outside of a circle is approximately 3.14 times its width. It has been calculated to more than a trillion digits beyond its decimal point – which would if spoken aloud, take hundreds of years to recite.
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In the Greek alphabet, pi is the 16th letter (right after omicron).
Today is also Albert Einstein’s birthday and marks the anniversary of the death of Stephen Hawking (2018).
For many, the best way to celebrate the never-ending decimal is by eating its homonym. And coincidence or not, 3.14 mirrored or backwards looks like ‘pie.’
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