March 14 is celebrated as Pi Day to recognize the mathematical constant, Pi, or π. Pi signifies the ratio of the circumference of the circle to the diameter of the circle. Π (piwas) is the sixteenth letter of both the Greek and English alphabet. Since the value of Pi is 3.14, March 14 is celebrated as Pi Day. People celebrate this day in many ways; some celebrate by eating and throwing pie because (pie and pi) are pronounced in the same manner, which makes them homophones. Here are 10 surprising facts about Pi Day and the number Pi. Play our quiz and try to answer our fun pi day questions.
Why Is Pi Day So Special?
Pi Day is special because it is an important number in mathematics. It is also used in music theory, air, space, and communications.
10 Interesting Facts About Pi Day
Who Introduced the Pi Symbol?
- A. William Jones
- B. Leonhard Euler
- C. Larry Shaw
- D. None of the Above
- Many mathematicians contributed a lot to the development of pi. The symbol was introduced by William Jones, a Welsh mathematician in 1706, and it was made popular by Leonhard Euler, a Swiss mathematician, who invented the calculus of variations.
- U.S. Congress made Pi official on March 12, 2009, mainly to improve math and science education.
- Pi Day also coincides with the birth anniversary of Albert Einstein and the death anniversary of Stephan Hawking.
- In 2016, Micheal Keith, an American Mathematician and software engineer, wrote an entire book in Pi language.
- Peter Trueb, a Swiss scientist, used 24 hard disks and a program called y-cruncher to calculate pi with 22 trillion digits.
- Apart from determining the volume of a sphere or a cylinder, Pi has many real-life application uses.
- Pi is believed to be for more than 4000 years, but the symbol π wasn’t adopted until 1700. The first person to do calculations of pi is mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse.
- Pi got its name recently and is much shorter than its previous name. In a math book from 1706, pi was mentioned as “quantitas in quam cum multiflicetur diameter, proveniet circumferencia” which roughly means the quantity which, when the diameter is multiplied by it, yields the circumference.
- There is an anti-Pi Day for pi haters. Yes, you read that right. Tau Day is observed on June 28 annually to celebrate the circle constant. If you’re a pi hater, celebrate Tau Day.
- Pi is a part of Egyptian mythology. Egyptians believe that the Great Pyramids of Giza were built based on Egyptian mythology.