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Happy Pi Day!

No, not National Pie Day. That's January 23.

Today, geeks go wild at the mere thought of celebrating pi — the ratio of a circle’s circumference to it’s diameter.

Pi Day falls on March 14 or 3/14. (Get it?)

It also happens to coincide with Albert Einstein's birthday which also helps to put the whole day in perspective: Nerdiest. Celebration. Ever.

Pi fun facts

 = 3.1415926535897932384626433832795, etc. or 3.14 for short.

Why pi? Beautiful in its simplicity, pi (pi = periphery) is the relationship between the perimeter of a circle (the circumference) and the distance across that circle (the diameter).  For any circle, the principle is without exception universal — meaning it's always the same whether it be applied to a merry-go-round, a dinner plate, or a bicycle wheel.

For years the ancient Greeks struggled with rational numbers (those that could be written as a simple fraction) to arrive at the concept of pi. It was only later discovered that pi is an irrational number. Not crazy, it just goes on for infinity and can't be corralled into a corner.

Today, no one exactly knows who came up with the recipe for pi, but the symbol for pi was first used in 1706 by William Jones, and later made popular by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1737.

Since then, pi has been an underappreciated concept all except by physicist and mathematicians.

To make up for it, the first Pi Day was held at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988, when visitors were invited to participate in Pi-related antics and activities. Later, all were invited back to a celebration to be served - you guessed it - a slice of apple pie.

Today, one of the museum's on-site physicists the "Prince of Pi" Larry Shaw, is duly recognized as the founder of Pi Day.

Pi Day 2012

On Wednesday, March 14, 2012 watch for parties, activities and celebrations planned in the US, Europe, and Canada in places ranging from university math departments to grade school classrooms.

Since Pi Day falls on a Monday this year, festivities may kick off on either Friday or Monday with die-hard Pi Day revelers celebrating throughout a "wild" Pi Day weekend.

3.14 ways to celebrate Pi Day

• Create homemade invitations with colorful constructions paper. Make circles using a compass to decorate the front cover with wording such as "To infinity and beyond..." or "Drop by to say pi!"
• Decorate with pi symbols, designate the diameter on everything round (clocks, area rugs, plates) and, of course, serve lots of round foods — like pizza pie, quiche, fruit pies, donuts, and pi-neapple rings.
• Arrange a sing-along of Pi Day songs, play Pi day trivia, or sponsor a contest to see who can memorize the most digits of pi, i.e., 3.14159265358 with the winner awarded... well, you know.
• Think .

The future of Pi Day

More excitement is on the way in 2015 when, on March 14 - at both the AM and PM hours - the date will read 3/14/15 at 9:26:53.589. It's the most accurate pi day that many people on earth alive today will ever see. The last time it happened was 1915 and the nearest next occurrence will be in 2115.

Pieces of Pi Day around the Web:

Pi Day - The "official" Pi Day site with an extensive history and background of the irrational number with related YouTube videos, Happy Pi Day e-cards, along with t-shirts and other Pi Day swag in the online shop.

Pi Day - Wikipedia - Fun facts, historical tidbits, including related photos and resources.

How to Celebrate Pi Day - WikiHow tips with food ideas, creating Pi Day atmosphere, making decorations, hosting games and activities.

Pi Land - Interactive pi trivia game, pi poetry and quotes, and the Web's one and only pi photo gallery.

Pi Day Pinata! - Step-by-step instructions for making a Pi Day party pinata, with photos and materials list.

Pi Day E-Cards - More than a dozen ways to wish friends and family a Happy Pi Day.

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