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It’s time to be irrational and celebrate π (Pi) Day!
Will you slice up this quiz and get 5/5 or are you going to eat humble pie?

#1. Why is March 14th celebrated as Pi Day?

Pi Day is 14 March, because the first three digits of pi are 3.14. It’s also Einstein’s birthday!

#2. If you have a one-metre-tall wheel and you roll it one full rotation, how far does it travel?

The wheel would roll exactly π metres, which is about 3.1.

#3. Who, in 1706, first gave the Greek letter π its current mathematical definition?

British mathematician William Jones used the symbol π to represent the number 3.14159… in 1706. It was later popularized by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler.

#4. True or false? Geeks invented a dialect known as Pilish, in which the numbers of letters in consecutive words match the digits of π.

True. Pilish was invented in the early 1900s as a way to remember the digits of π.

#5. Which pie filling is a member of the rose family?

All of these fruits are members of the Rosaceae family.

Was I right?

Results

Congratulations! You are a real science whiz!

Oh dear! Better brush up before the next quiz!

3 responses

  1. glenn cardwell Avatar
    glenn cardwell

    4. Isn’t a dialectic a recognised language used for communication (spoken and written) within a relatively small group of people? Isn’t Pilish more like a fun written mnemonic to remember the order of the digits of Pi? Surely that doesn’t make Pilish a ‘dialect’? Anyway, I would have used the word ‘mnemonic’ in place of ‘dialect’.

  2. David Shaw Avatar
    David Shaw

    Hi Glenn,
    Yeah, it’s probably a stretch to call it a dialect. Although, it is only used among a small group of people (pi obsessed nerds) so it’s not completely out of the ballpark.

    I reckon the correct term is constrained writing. I doubt people are writing in pilish to try and remember the digits – it’s more of a game than that.

  3. glenn Avatar
    glenn

    Yes, good point David. Thnx

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