While Friday is a cute reminder to test your memory or add dessert to your meal, the word pi (depending on how you spell it) is an everyday occurrence. Pi, mathematically speaking, is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. The number Pi, which is 3.14159 (and so on), is used in several different industries. It helps calculate the capacity of tanks, pipes, and storage containers and designs curved structures such as arches, domes, tunnels, and bridges. The number is also used to track cargo ships and predict the weather. In its most simple use, pi is used to measure the area and circumference of a circle. It is handy if you are a baker or restaurant owner like the Village Kitchen’s Chris Jacobs, who hopes people celebrate “pie” day.

While pie has become a part of Pi Day, it started in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw, who organized the first celebration at the San Francisco Exploratorium as a way to make math more fun. After it was officially recognized as National Pi Day in 2009 by the U.S. Congress, the United National Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared March 14th as International Math Day. Ironically, March 14th is also the birthday of the late Albert Einstein.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay