The International Day of Mathematics, also known as π (pi) day, is a worldwide celebration held on March 14th to appreciate the beauty of mathematics.
Why March 14th?
As many may know, the american date system differs significantly from the ones used commonly by other nations, using a MM/DD/YY format, which allows for some fun and interesting dates, such as March 14th, written in the american format as 03/14, which just so happen to be the first three digits of pi! But it doesn’t stop there, since there’s also a really notorious figure whose birthday is on that same day, the famous mathematician Albert Einstein.
Pi day around the world
Being founded in the US by Larry Shaw, an employee at a science museum in San Francisco, the amount of people that celebrate this day all over the world has only multiplied with every passing year.
The most common ways to commemorate pi day is by baking and eating pie (in relation to the word play) or holding pi recitation contests. The holiday has gained so much recognition that many food chains tend to offer discounts at 3.14 dollars on their menus, and even NASA holds puzzles and activities on their website related to it.
Another alternative to the options mentioned before is to find ways to demonstrate pi, such as lining 4 pizzas together and taking the crust off of one, then placing this same crust by the side of the pizzas. You will see how the crust seems to extend a little over 3 pizzas, precisely 3.141592… pizzas.
03/14/2025
This date was specially interesting, not only because of the month and day matching the first three digits of pi, but for the year too! The number 2025 can also be written as 45², making 2025 a perfect square. The last perfect square year was in 1936, and the next one will be in 2116.
Isn’t it awesome we happen to be alive to see a perfect square year?
This truly is a year of multiplication!
