They say the only constant in life is change. In mathematics, however, there are many constants, and today, we"re celebrating perhaps the most famous of them all: pi. This tasty-sounding constant is the ratio of a circle"s circumference to its diameter, approximately 3.14159. Every March 14, mathematics fans across the world get baking to mark Pi Day—a celebration of both the mathematical constant π and its delicious homophone, pie. It began in 1988, when physicist Larry Shaw connected the date (3/14) with the first three digits of this constant. Today, mathematicians and enthusiasts celebrate Pi Day with pie eating and pi reciting. Did you know that when your clock strikes 1:59 today, you will be three decimal places closer to the real value of pi? Pi is everywhere, even in nature. Pictured here is a bodhi tree in the shape of the pi symbol at Wat Phra Ngam, a temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Whether you"re a math geek or just in it for the treats, Pi Day is for everyone to enjoy!
Happy Pi Day!
Today in History
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Angry bird, doting dad
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Regal Radiance
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Nature’s own canvas
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Turkey Tail Mushroom
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An island made from a vow
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Daylight Savings
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Majestic lord of the skies
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Jeju Island, South Korea
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A future built on the past
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World Rhinoceros Day
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‘The hills have a power to soothe and heal which is their very own.’
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A glowing square of squares
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Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico, USA
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The Big Apple with a foggy topping
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Behold the architectural marvel
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Koala sleeping in a eucalyptus tree, Australia
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The ‘potato chip bird’
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Sway with the Amazonian canopy
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A light in the coastal darkness
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Bangkok, Thailand
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Bridging the gap two ways
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Sea Otter Awareness Week
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SantaPark, Lapland, Finland
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Walking a rocky rainbow
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Where we go to play
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Fragrant fields as far as the eye can see
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Lei Day
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A UNESCO World Heritage Site
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El Capitan in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, USA
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Our forgotten forests