12 Pi Day products you didn’t know you needed, but do

Shannan Younger — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 18:45:41 +0000

Pi Day is just around the corner! On March 14th, fans of math and pie come together to celebrate π, which is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its 3.14. They often do so with a great deal of humor, and I was cracking up at some of the fun items I found to help make your Pi Day as fun and festive as possible. Here are Pi Day products that you didn’t know you needed, but do.

Pi Pie Pan

How perfect is this pi pie? I love this pie pan so much. So. Much. Forget the fact that I have no idea how I’d actually make a pie crust for this.

Pi Cookie Cutter

Less ambitious bakers may find that this Pi-shaped cookie cutter is more up their alley.

Come To The Math Side We Have Pi T-shirt

Star Wars and Pi Day together? Yes, please!

Pi Superhero Shirt

I’m also loving this shirt.

Pi Socks

Because footwear matters, and so does Pi.

I Ate Some Pi And It Was Delicious Travel Tumbler

This is “I 8 sum” pi, or “I ate some Pi.” Pi humor and warm coffee equal a great morning.

Pi-Shaped Teak Shower Bench

Okay, it’s pretty likely that you don’t actually need this shower bench, but if you’re married to a math major like I am, it could be a big hit.

3.14 and PIE Coincidence Tall Mug

I do not think it’s a coincidence, do you?

Pi Mouse Pad

I don’t use a mouse any more, but I kind of want this anyway.

There are also several great books on Pi, including:

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander

The title of this book has me wanting it, regardless of the fact that Amazon recommends it for kids in middle grades.

Why Pi? by Johnny Ball

The book Why Pi? examines on how Pi and numbers in general have been used to measure things, from how the ancient Egyptians measured the pyramids to the ways that current day scientists calculate time and space. Amazon says it’s best for grades two through five.

Piece of Pi: Wit-Sharpening, Brain-bruising, Number-Crunching Activities with Pi by Naila Bokhari

This offers lots of math fun for your numbers-loving middle schooler.

This post contains affiliate links.

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Pi Day facts, and why Pi Day 2015 is epic

Shannan Younger — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 19:05:58 +0000

Pi Day not just about lemon meringue or Dutch apple, though that’s certainly a delicious part of the March 14 celebration. Pi, the Greek letter written “π,” represents in math the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi is approximately 3.14159265359, but it is an infinite number, meaning that it goes on forever. It is commonly referred to as 3.14, hence why Pi Day is celebrated on March 14, or 3/14.

This year, though, is 3/14/15. Pi Day 2015 is a special one this year because the date can be written to the ten thousandth place value. You can even go crazy celebrate at 9:26 a.m. because Pi is 3.14.15926, or take it out to the second and mark 9:26:53 to get to 3.141592653. You can only do this once a century.

Some facts about pi:

* Pi is definitely not new. It goes back nearly 4,000 years to ancient civilizations, with a Babylonian tablet stating the value of pi as 3.125. In ancient Egypt, they calculated the area of a circle by a formula that gave the approximate value of 3.1605 for pi.

* The first calculation of pi was done by Archimedes of Syracuse (287–212 BC), one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world.

* Pi is an irrational and transcendental number. It will will continue infinitely without a pattern.

* Mathematicians have calculated pi to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point.

* People like to memorize as many digits of pi as they can. The record is memorizing 42,195 digits.

* Use of π, a Greek letter, first started with William Jones using it in 1706. Leonhard Euler popularized the use of the symbol when he adopted it in 1737.

* π the symbol is not new, but Pi Day is new event. The first Pi Day was held at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988 On March 12, 2009, the United States Congress passed a resolution recognizing Pi Day. Here are some ways to celebrate.

* In one episode of Star Trek, Spock fools a computer by asking it what the last digit of pi was.

* Pi Ball is a game played in South Africa on a circular court.

* You can use pi to determine the volume of a cylinder with this equation: V = πr²h.

* Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Germany.

* The vertical height of the Great Pyramid of Giza times 3.14 equals the perimeter of the base.

* The first 31 digits of pi contain no zeroes.

(Sources: Pi Day Fun Facts, PiDay.org, A Brief History of Pi)

You can find more Pi Day jokes here and here and activities for celebrating here.

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Prior post: How to make a Mickey Mouse rice krispie treat that’s sure to wow

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