The Definition of Pi
- Pi is a mathematical constant that defines the ratio of the circumference of a circle in relation to its diameter.
- Pi comes from the Greek perimetros, meaning circumference, and the Greek letter to represent it since the 18th century.
- Pi, calculated by Archimedes of Syracuse, the best mathematician of antiquity, determined a circle's area via Pythagorean's theorem.
- Pi has been used throughout history by many different cultures.
- Pi is now an essential part of calculations in many fields such as engineering, construction, and physics.
The History of Pi Day
Pi Day is observed March 14, since 3, 1 and 4 are the first three figures of Pi. Founded n 1988 by Larry Shaw, a physicist at the San Francisco Exploratorium, It was offically recognized as National Pi Day by the House of Representatives on March 12, 2009.
The History of Pi Day and TXGA
Since Pi Day occurs around Texas Challenge, we often host an event, for pie or pizza, to recognize and celebrate the day. Because, at our core, we are a nerdy group, so let's embrace our fellow nerds and celebrate their events, also!
This year we are taking our celebration to a new level of fun and nerdiness with not one, but two celebrations of silliness. Stage #1 of the festivities is GCAJCGY, our Flash Mob event at 11 AM at the World's Littlest Skyscraper.
Stage #2 - Pi Day - Pie Eating Contest
- At 1:45 PM we'll marshall at GZ. Do not be late!
- We'll get into formation and welcome PI Day with a brief chant.
- We'll then have a pie eating contest. Each participant will have half a pie. The fastest to consume wins a $25 gift Card.
- We'll have plastic bags and supplies to help keep you remain clean and clean up after the contest.
- After the event, we'll have some pies from a local bakery to eat in a more civilized manner.
- Bring your own drinks!
- To pull this one off, we need you to add extra information in your Will Attend log.
- Indicate you want to participate in the contest (cherry for the contest).
- What flavor do you want? (This is for after the contest.)
If you need some more Pi-tastic facts
- The exact area of a circumference can never be calculated because the exact value of Pi can never be calculated. This is because Pi is an irrational and transcendental number, which means it can go on to infinity.
- Computer scientist Emma Haruka Iwao holds the record for calculating Pi to 100 trillion digits.
- According to The Guinness Book of Records, the world record for reciting Pi to the highest decimal places is held by Rajveer Meena, who in 2005 took 10 hours to recite Pi to 70,000 decimal places.
- Piphilology - the practice of creating mnemonics to remember the digits of pi: One example you can learn to impress is the first words of the sentence "May I Have A Large Container Of Coffee Right Now" to represent 3.141592635.
- On March 8, 2023, Westwood High School in Arizona broke the record for the largest number of people (2,036) to stand in the shape of the pi symbol.