Irrational celebrations of Pi Day spiral out of control

Math connoisseurs are marking today by celebrating their favourite mathematical constant, Pi. March 14 is written as 03/14, which contains the three most significant digits of Pi.

The day, which also marks the birth of Albert Einstein, was created by physicist Larry Shaw in 1988 and first celebrated at the San Francisco Exploratorium, according to Wikipedia. Pi is an irrational and transcendental number that continues infinitely without repeating itself. It comes in handy when calculating the circumference or area of a circle.

The Internet was abuzz with Pi Day celebrations. “Happy Pi Day” was trending on Twitter, as was “Albert Einstein.” Liberal MP Justin Trudeau contributed this message to the celebrations: Geek RT “@InklessPW: Party at 1:59:26! “@kady: What a perfect combination. @nepeancarleton:@kady Happy PI day (3.14) to you!#geeksunite””

The time of 1:59:26 is important to watch out for on Pi Day too, since it is composed of the digits following 3.14 in the irrational number.

In the U.S., defense and security solutions provider Raytheon Company said it would be delivering hundreds of apple pies to match and science teachers located within a 3.14-mile radius of certain business locations, including the Waltham, Mass.-based headquarters. Eating pie is another activity many Pi Day revelers partake in, because of its linguistic proximity to Pi. Pies of both the dessert and pizza variety are viewed as acceptable dishes.

Some fast food vendors jumped on the Pi Day bandwagon, with Domino’s Pizza in Chicago advertising sales of pizza for $3.14 on Twitter. A KFC chicken outlet promoted its chicken pot pie, as well.

The official Pi Day Web site is hocking memorabilia to mark the occasion. Items include Pi T-shirts and coffee mugs, and a clock that describes each hour as an expression of Pi. Pi Day e-cards can also be sent from the site.

Some are looking forward to March 14, 2015, when the date 03/14/15 which will be even more analogous to Pi.

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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