Pi Day: What's it About? Eating Pie (And Learning)

By COLIN MINER (Patch Staff)

BEDFORD, MA - It’s not just another manic Monday. It’s March 14, also known as 3/14. And that means one thing ... Pi Day!

For those who have blocked out high school geometry, pi is the number used to help calculate the area of a circle.

The number, 3.14 in shorthand, is used to multiply the circle’s radius, squared.

That will give you the circumference of the circle.

Scientists and computers have actually calculated pi to more than one million digits.

The number has been known for thousands of years but in 1988, a physicist at the Exploratorium in San Franciscodecided that he and his colleagues should celebrate the day.

And it grew from there - becoming a day marked around the world to celebrate science, math, and learning.

And, with all great American traditions, it has been commercialized.

• Pizza Hut has a math contest going on its website. The winner gets free pizza for 31.4 years.

• Microsoft is offering 31.4 percent discounts on some computers.

• Whole Foods has in-store celebrations and discounts on pie.