World Pi Day | By Haarish Nair
Illustration By Sarah Pal
When the word ‘pi’ is mentioned, I bet most people would start imagining a slice of pie on a plate ready to be indulged in. Wait till some of you find out that the word ‘pi’ has another meaning in the mathematical world! It is a common word used by math geeks to solve mathematical problems involving circles most of the time. They have also chosen to give this value its own international celebration. The name of this celebration is none other than World Pi Day.
This international celebration is celebrated annually on the 14th of March around the globe. The term Pi, is also known by the Greek letter ‘Π’. Pi is a constant that is the most ancient and most recognized in the world, which has a value of approximately 3.14159265. The first calculation of it was done by none other than Archimedes, one of the greatest mathematicians in the world!
In 1988, during the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the idea for Pi Day was brought up by a physicist named Larry Shaw. Mr Shaw was a genius to relate the first three digits of Pi (3.14) with the date 14th of March. He served fruit pie and some tea to everyone on that day starting at 1.59 pm, which are the next three digits of the value. It was then decided to be celebrated annually and was also made a national holiday in America in the year 2009.
Illustration By Nicholas Chan
How is Pi Day Celebrated?
Pi Day is mainly celebrated under Exploratorium online. They share wonderful insights relating to Pi and also teach and encourage viewers to try activities out at their homes. You can find the live celebration at this link: Pi (π) Day Celebration with John Sims | Exploratorium
There are also Pi recital competitions, scavenger hunts and pie bake sales held in schools around the world to help boost excitement. It also teaches the importance of Pi and its contributions to the world, especially in mathematical circular calculations.
Math lovers usually hold get-togethers to talk about it and engage. Not only that, some restaurants in a few countries around the world actually give out discounts on this day!
Fun Facts About ‘Pi’
In case you are a little stumped on Pi trivia, here are a few fun facts that will surely get you excited:
1. World Pi Day is also coincidentally celebrated on Albert Einstein’s birthday. How cool is that?
2. Did you know that people actually compete in memorizing the numbers in the Pi value? For instance, Rajveer Meena has the record for being able to memorize the most decimal places in the value, at 70000.
3. This value is also used as stress tests for computers. Calculations involving Pi are made to determine the true potential of a computer.
4. Pi is not the only name it goes by, it is also known as ‘Archimedes’ constant or even ‘Ludolph’s Number’.
Photo By Nicholas Chan
How You Too Can Celebrate
If Pi excites you, you too can celebrate world Pi day! Here are some ways you can join in on the global fun:
1. First of all, what is Pi day without some actual pie? Treat yourself or maybe invite your family and friends as well for a slice of pie and have fun!
2. Try to estimate using toothpicks. Using a method known as Buffon’s Needles, you could try this game by referring to this link: Pi Toss: Mathematics & Probability Science Activity | Exploratorium Teacher Institute Project
3. Another game you could have fun with is Cutting Pi. Here’s a link for you to check it out, have fun! Cutting Pi: Mathematics & Measurement Science Activity | Exploratorium Teacher Institute Project
4. Next, create a Pi Graph! Here’s how you could make one: Pi Graph: Data & Mathematics Science Activity | Exploratorium Teacher Institute Project
5. Last but not least, the ultimate challenge of all, try memorizing all the digits in the value and maybe you could be the next person who will break the record!
Why Do People Love This Celebration?
To begin with, Pi is cool! Just knowing its history will make you feel 10 times smarter. Moreover, Pi plays an important role towards the mathematical developments in the world, especially calculations on circles. Without it, constructive problems are hard to solve.
To conclude, Pi is a historical part of mathematics and should always be celebrated. Hopefully from reading this article you may have gotten a wonderful insight on what World Pi day is all about.
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