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Science Series: Pi Day

History of Pi Day

3.14: March 14

4 min readMar 14, 2025

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Photo by Taso Katsionis on Unsplash

This holiday is often overlooked by those who do not speak Greek or those who do not speak Geek… but for the science major, this is a special celebration. Though it is an irregular constant number, regularly and annually we have the first three digits of “Pi” on March 14, or 3/14, or 3.14 — If one wanted to be precise, and why not, it would be at 15:92 o’clock or 4:32 pm… and 65.35 seconds, or slightly after 4:33 pm. You get the idea.

Origin of Pi Day

The origin of this geek holiday has been traced to a celebration led by Larry Shaw at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988, where he was a physicist. No less than the U.S. House of Representatives boldly stepped out and passed a non-binding resolution recognizing March 14 as Pi Day in 2009. Your tax dollars at work.

Pi Food

Pi Day is gaining traction with purveyors of the circular food.

My neighborhood has a shop called 3.14 Sweet and Savory Pi Bar. Ironically, they serve sweet and savory pies. They celebrate Pi Day as if it were their day.

My local pizza establishment in the vicinity, Il Vicino, is offering a special price on the basic pie, $3.14

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Bill Petro
Bill Petro

Written by Bill Petro

Historian, technologist, blogger/podcaster. Former Silicon Valley tech exec. Author of articles on history, tech, pop culture, & travel. https://billpetro.com

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