It’s Pi Day and that’s reason for pie

It’s March 14, which according to the American en ISO 8601date format means it’s Pi Day. The 2023 day is also an anniversary, as it is the 35th time that Pi Day has been celebrated. The day is dedicated to the mathematical constant, pie and International Mathematics Day.

Pi Day is all about π, or 3.141592653… As far as we know, physicist Larry Shaw of the San Francisco Exploratorium is the driving force behind the first Pi Day as we know it today. His first Pi Day was 35 years ago.

The highlight of the day is in the afternoon at 1:59 PM. Then, again according to the Americans, it is 1.59 PM, which, together with the date, corresponds to the first six digits of the constant. So you have until then to go to your local pie baker, in case you forgot Pi Day.

Pi Day involves eating or throwing pie, or contests of naming as many pi numbers as possible. A celebration that can last for a long time; in August 2021, a Swiss team calculated the constant to 62.8 trillion decimal places.