This year I am proclaiming March to be the month of math and I urge you all to host your own geometrical galas to celebrate a pair of algebraic anniversaries. For this March we celebrate both Square Root Day and Pi Day, a feat which only occurs once each century.
Square root day is held on the date that both the day and the month are both a square root of the last two digits of the year; so this year it’s March 3rd, 2009 (3/3/09). Celebrating is easy. When eating your all important three square meals don't forget your root vegetables like potatoes, turnips, beets, carrots, or parsnips; but remember to cut them quadrilaterally. Date squares, or any other square really, will also make an excellent dessert. After your meal have a try at square dancing, or if that’s not your cup of tea head to your local elementary school yard for a round of square ball. Although in truth the most perfect square root day activity is, of course, the magic square. Remember to get you fill though since the next time you can celebrate is April 4th 2016.
Then two weeks you later continue your mathematical merriment on March 14th when we celebrate Pi day, at 1:59 (am if you’re a purist, pm if you’re happy with the 12 hour clock). Again food plays heavily into celebrations and mass quantities of sweet and savory pies are eaten along with pizza (pie) and things containing pineapple or pine nuts (both of which are good on the aforementioned pizza); pina coladas are often the beverage of choice. Traditionally meals are eaten at exactly 1:59, but if you do choose another snacking time I suggest meals which approximate pie, such as a Cornish Pastry.
After your very early breakfast (or late lunch), sit down and write a pi-ku poetry which can take a number of forms.
Firstly you could try a haiku about Pi, I borrowed this one from TeachPi.org
Unending digits...
Why not keep it simple, like
Twenty-two sevenths?
Or add a Pi twist to haiku and use the 3, 1, 4 syllable format as I did here
Number Pi
Is
Never ending
Reciting pi with a friend can consume a large part of your day, here is a site which has calculated pi to 4000 decimals. If all of this is sounding a little too nerdy for you you can read Life of Pi, which has absolutely nothing to do with math or watch Pi the movie.
Hopefully this double dose of function fiestas can hold you over until October 24th at 6:02 when we rejoice with our chemistry brethren and celebrate Mole day.
*edit* - ... I just saw this via Boing Boing and could not resist. Pi-Day ice cube trays
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