**********
Fun Facts about pi:
Pi is a never-ending number: One of the most well-known (but still mind-blowing) facts about pi is that it’s an irrational number. It can’t be expressed as a fraction, it doesn’t end with a repeating pattern (like the decimal expression of 1/3, 0.33333 …, with the threes repeating forever), and it doesn’t terminate after a certain number of decimal places (like 3/4, or .75). It just keeps going and going and going. So far, pi has been calculated to 100 trillion digits, thanks to Google Cloud.
**********
There are no zeros in the first 31 digits of Pi.
**********
The Greek letter π is the first letter of the word periphery and perimeter. And as we all know, pi is the ratio of a circle’s “periphery” to its diameter.
**********
Though we know trillions of digits of pi, we don’t really need them. Engineers at NASA round pi off to 15 decimal places when calculating interplanetary trajectories. In fact, if you were trying to calculate the size of the observable universe, using 39 digits of pi would give you an answer off by no more than the width of a hydrogen atom.
Calculating the circumference of the Earth by only using π to the 9th digit would result in only a ¼-inch error for every 25,000 miles.
**********
State lawmakers once tried to round up pi to 3.2: If we don’t need all those decimal places in pi, wouldn’t it be easier to just call it 3.2? One of the more bizarre facts about pi is that in 1897, an Indiana doctor decided that the world should go ahead and use 3.2 for any calculations requiring pi. Dr. Edwin Goodwin proposed a bill in the state legislature. He even copyrighted this idea and planned to charge royalty fees for anyone who used it—except for those in the state of Indiana. After some debate, the state senate realized that the idea of using a law to change a mathematical constant was a silly one, and the law failed to pass.
**********
A handy tool makes use of pi: The GPS system in your car and smartphone use it to calculate specific locations on Earth.
**********
The exact right time for the celebration of Pi Day is at 1:59 pm (π = 3.14159). Eating pie on Pi Day is traditional: Pizza pie, pot pie, shepherd’s pie and, of course, dessert pie. Just make sure it’s round!
**********
BUT BE CAREFUL!
