Pi is a very unusual number. It shows up in a lot of different places in math, but the most interesting place is with circles. No matter how big or how little the circle is, you can always find its circumference (the distance around the edge) by multiplying its diameter (the distance across the circle) by this mysterious number, pi.

The reason I bring up such an oddity is that today is known (at least to some people) as "Pi Day". That's because pi is approximately 3.14, and today is March 14th, written in North America as 3/14.

Oh, and one more interesting bit of trivia before I go -- today is also the anniversary of Albert Einstein's birthday. He would have been 123 years old. Check out this site, where you can find your birthday in the first million digits of pi.

Enjoy Pi Day!

Times Editor