Pi Day

A pi pie baked at the Delft University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands

pi + day, from the date March 14th in the month/day format (that is, 3/14), 3, 1 and 4 being the first three significant digits of the mathematical constant π.

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪ deɪ/

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Pi Day

1. March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi).
   • 1997, Louise Bock; Susan Guengerich; Hope Martin, “March Celebrations”, in Multicultural Math Fun: Holidays around the Year, Portland, Me.: J. Weston Walch Publisher, →ISBN, page 83:

     Did you know that March 14 is Pi Day (no, π is not misspelled). Pi Day is celebrated on 3/14 or 3.14! To commemorate this remarkable ratio, we have a few circular activities. The first is the Pizza Survey. What are the students' favorite toppings on pizza? What do you like best?

   • 1999, David H. Albert, “Exits and Entrances”, in And the Skylark Sings with Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and Community-based Education, Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers in cooperation with Holt Associates/Growing Without Schooling, →ISBN, page 128:

     As Quakers, we do not as a matter of religion celebrate any holidays (more accurately, all days are to be considered holidays because they have equal potential for revealing the Divine to us), but as a cultural matter we celebrate all kinds: Hindu, Christian, Jewish, ethnic, birthdays of famous composers, artists, writers, and scientists, π Day (March 14th – we bake several pies and divide them into fractions before eating), even some we just make up ourselves.

   • 2002, Ivan Peterson, “A Passion for Pi”, in Mathematical Treks: From Surreal Numbers to Magic Circles (Spectrum Series; a Science News Book), [Washington, D.C.]: Mathematical Association of America, →ISBN, page 17:

     Of all known mathematical constants, however, pi continues to attract the most attention. […] The Exploratorium in San Francisco continues to celebrate Pi Day on March 14 each year, starting at 1:59 pm.

   • 2009 March 12, H. Res. 224 Supporting the Designation of Pi Day, and for Other Purposes‎, [Washington, D.C.]: United States Government Publishing Office, archived from the original on 28 December 2016, page 2:

     Whereas Pi can be approximated as 3.14, and thus March 14, 2009, is an appropriate day for "National Pi Day": Now, therefore, be it / Resolved, That the [United States] House of Representatives— / (1) supports the designation of a "Pi Day" and its celebration around the world; […]

   • 2012 June 19, Jonathan M[ichael] Borwein, “The Life of Pi: From Archimedes to Eniac and Beyond”, in David H[arold] Bailey; Jonathan M. Borwein, Pi: The Next Generation: A Sourcebook on the Recent History of Pi and Its Computation, Switzerland: Springer Nature, published 2016, DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-32377-0, →ISBN, page 446:

     Likewise, March 14 in North America has been π Day, since in the USA the month is written before the day ('314'). In schools throughout North America, it has become a reason for mathematical projects, especially focussing on π.

   • 2015 March 14, Sam Ro, “March 14, 2015 will be a once-in-a-century thrill for math geeks”, in Business Insider‎, archived from the original on 4 March 2016:

     March 14, or 3/14, is recognized by math geeks as Pi day. That happens every year. But as UBS’s Art Cashin notes, next year’s Pi day will be a once-in-a-century Pi day. “At 9:26:53 a.m., they can write 3/14/15; 9:26:53, which you should also recall are the first ten digits of Pi in perfect order,” said Cashin.

   • 2016, Liz Strachan, “A Little More Pi”, in Easy as Pi: Maths Made Simple, London: Robinson, →ISBN:

     Pi lovers like to celebrate Pi Day every year. In the US, they write the date with the month first, then the day and year. So in 2015, 14th March was 3 14 15, the first five digits of π. So that was a really special Pi Day when, of course, they sang their special song, Pi, Pi, Mathematical Pi, to the tune of that great song everyone danced to in the 1970s, 'Bye-bye, Miss American Pie' by Don McLean.

• π Day

• Pi Day on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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