Hip hip hooray! March 14 is Pi Day!

Although Pi is typically rounded down to 3.14, the number is infinite. In 2021 the University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland calculated the most accurate value of Pi, which was more than 62 trillion digits long, according to the Guiness Book of World Records.

Pi has been around for 4,000 years and was used by ancient Babylonians, according to the Exploratorium, a San Francisco-based museum where Pi Day was first celebrated in the U.S. Early calculations of Pi were based on measurement until the Greek mathematician Archimedes became the first to use an algorithmic approach, according to PiDay.org, a website created to encourage learning in STEM subjects.

The Pi symbol was introduced in 1706 by mathematician William Jones, but it wasn’t made popular until Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler used it in 1737.

Former physicist Larry Shaw, who connected March 14 with 3.14, celebrated the first Pi Day at the Exploratorium with fruit pies and tea in 1988, and he led Pi Day parades there every year until his passing in 2017. The celebration continues and is spreading.

In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution marking March 14 as National Pi Day.

It’s interesting to note that March 14 is the birthdate of Albert Einstein and also the deathdate of Stephen Hawking, two of the world’s greatest mathematical minds.

We can’t think of a better way to honor them than by enjoying some pie.