March 14 is Pi Day, a chance for people around the world to celebrate everyone's favorite mathematical constant "π" (pronounced like the word "pie.")
Pi is an incredibly important number in many fields because it is used to represent the ratio of a circle's circumference (the distance around its edge) to its diameter (the distance from one edge to another measuring straight through the center.)
The value of Pi is always the same no matter the size of the circle—approximately 3.14. Pi is an irrational real number, meaning it cannot be fully expressed, and continues on infinitely. For millennia, humans have tried to calculate Pi to ever greater decimal accuracy, an endeavor which has been pushed to the extremes by the advent of modern technology.
A Google developer—Emma Haruka Iwao—recently broke the world record for calculating the constant, working it out to an astonishing 31.4 trillion digits using a cloud computing technique.
Pi Day was first celebrated at the San Francisco Exploratorium on March 14 (3/14) 1988—with the date chosen as a reference to the first digits of pi. During the festivities, revelers ate pie, a tradition which continues to this day.
If you're searching for a less calorific way to celebrate Pi Day, why not try out some of these math jokes on your friends and loved ones?
Pi Jokes
Why should you never talk to pi? Because he'll just go on forever.
What was Sir Isaac Newton's favorite dessert? Apple pi.
The mathematician says, "Pi r squared." The baker replies, "No, pies are round. Cakes are square."
What do you get when you take green cheese and divide its circumference by its diameter? Moon pi.
How many pastry chefs does it take to make a pie? 3.14.
The worst thing about getting hit in the face with pi is that it never ends.
What is 1.57? Half a pi.
What do you get when you cut a jack o'lantern by its diameter? Pumpkin pi.
3.14 percent of sailors are PI-rates!
How far can you recite pi? Cherry, apple, pecan, blueberry…
What famous private investigator solves math problems? Magnum PI.
What do you get when you take a bovine and divide its circumference by its diameter? A cow pi.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Aristos is a Newsweek science reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He reports on science and health topics, including; animal, ... Read more
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