Geek Holiday Series
History of Pi Day: 3.14
The science, math, history, and music of the holiday
This holiday is often overlooked by those who do not speak Greek or those who do not speak Geek… but for the science major, this is a special celebration. Though it is an irregular constant number, regularly and annually on March 14, or 3/14, or 3.14 — we have the first three digits of “Pi.” If one wanted to be precise, and why not, it would be at 15:92 o’clock, or 4:32 pm… and 65.35 seconds, or slightly after 4:33 pm. You get the idea.
Origin of Pi Day
The origin of this geek holiday has been traced to a celebration led by Larry Shaw at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988, where he was a physicist. No less than the U.S. House of Representatives boldly stepped out and passed a non-binding resolution recognizing March 14 as Pi Day in 2009. Your tax dollars at work.
Food
Pi Day is gaining traction with purveyors of the circular food.
In my neighborhood, there is a shop called 3.14 Sweet and Savory Pi Bar. They serve, ironically, sweet and savory pies…
