Last Friday, I hope you had your knives and calculators handy. It was March 14^th, or Pi Day! Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. That may seem like a bunch of math-speak, but allow me to simplify it for you. Pi is a mathimagical number that, much like a geometry period itself, is endless. We celebrate Pi Day on March 14^th (3/14) because pi starts with the digits 3.14.

The celebration of Pi Day started on March 14^th, 1988 in the San Francisco Exploratorium, thus securing California the twin titles of “nerdiest state” and “coolest state” (at least in my mind).

Pi is a number, a Greek letter (some would call it a geek letter), and a delectable amalgam of fruit and crust. The number pi is extra special because it goes on forever without ever repeating itself, a skill sorely desired by any filibustering senator. So how are π, pi, and pie related? Well the letter π describes the number pi, and the number pi describes the ratio of a pie’s circumference when compared to its diameter.

As great as all that jargon is, a similarity to pi is not the only reason why March 14^th is special. On this day in 1879, a wonderful Swiss patent clerk came screaming into the world. Reports say that this person was born doing differential calculus while wearing glasses and a moustache. No, it was not Britney Spears. It was Albert Einstein. March 14^th must be God’s gift to true math and science-inclined people.          

There are almost as many ways to celebrate Pi Day as there are digits of pi. You can eat a pie decorated with some digits of pi. You can eat some digits of pi decorated with slices of pie. You can try to memorize as many digits as possible. You can go online and read the digits of pi like they are the newest John Green novel. You can sit with a pen and paper and perfect your method of drawing the Greek letter π. You can split an atom in honor of Albert Einstein. You can write mathematical equations that uncover phenomenally brilliant truths about our universe. You can even wear a shirt with the letter π on it, hit a person in the face with a pie and then run away while reciting digits of pi.

Anyway, happy Pi Day! If you forgot to celebrate on Friday, just start to prepare for next year’s Pi Day, a once-in-a-century occurrence: On March 14, 2015, at 9:26:53 AM and PM, we math geeks can write 10 digits of pi for the date rather than only 3. If you want to tell me about your Pi Day experience, just call me at: 3.14-159-265-358-979-323-846-264-338-327-950-288-419-716-9399.