Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren bog Obam here. The number referred to as PIE
Speaker 1: has mesmerized mathematicians for four thousand years. It's the rarest
Speaker 1: of mathematical constants and unfailingly accurate ratio that's also never ending.
Speaker 1: The digits of pie have been calculated out more than
Speaker 1: twenty two trillion decimal places without ever repeating. That makes
Speaker 1: it an irrational number. The definition of pie is simple.
Speaker 1: It's the ratio of a circle's circumference, that is, the
Speaker 1: length around the circle divided by its diameter, or the
Speaker 1: length across the circle. But what's remarkable is that, no
Speaker 1: matter the size of the circle you're measuring, that ratio
Speaker 1: of circumference to diameter will always equal three point one
Speaker 1: four one five nine, two six, five, three, five, eight, nine, seven,
Speaker 1: et cetera, usually shortened to three point one four. Divide
Speaker 1: the circumference of a tennis ball by its diameter and
Speaker 1: you get three point one four. By the circumference of
Speaker 1: the planet Mars by its diameter, and you get three
Speaker 1: point one four. Divide the circumference of the known universe
Speaker 1: by its diameter. You get the point Pie is critical
Speaker 1: to several basic calculations in geometry, physics, and engineering, including
Speaker 1: the area of a circle, which is pie times the
Speaker 1: square of the radius, and the volume of a cylinder,
Speaker 1: which is pie are squared times the height of the cylinder.
Speaker 1: When the ancient Babylonians attempted to measure the precise area
Speaker 1: of circles back in nine b c E, they assigned
Speaker 1: a value to pie a three point one to five.
Speaker 1: The ancient Egyptians came up with three point one six
Speaker 1: zero five. The Greek mathematician Archimedes, working in the third
Speaker 1: century BC, and the Chinese mathematician Zoo Changza, working in
Speaker 1: the fifth century c E, are co credited with calculating
Speaker 1: the most accurate approximations of pie, before calculus and supercomputers
Speaker 1: gave us a more definitive answer. Then, in seventeen o six,
Speaker 1: the self taught Welsh mathematician William Jones assigned the Greek
Speaker 1: letter P to this magical number without end, possibly because
Speaker 1: P is the first letter of the Greek words for
Speaker 1: periphery and perimeter. The symbol's use was later popularized by
Speaker 1: eighteenth century Swiss mathematician Leonard Euler, but wasn't adopted worldwide
Speaker 1: until nineteen thirty four. The fact that pie can be
Speaker 1: found everywhere, not only in circles, but in arcs, pendulums,
Speaker 1: and interplanetary navigation, and that it's infinitely long has inspired
Speaker 1: a cult following that includes plenty of geeky tattoos and
Speaker 1: even its own national holiday. National Pie Day was officially
Speaker 1: recognized by the United States Congress in two thousand nine,
Speaker 1: but the definitely not square roots of the holiday can
Speaker 1: be traced back to eight and a man named Larry
Speaker 1: the Prince of Pie Shaw. Shaw was a beloved longtime
Speaker 1: employee at the Exploratorium, a science museum in San Francisco, California,
Speaker 1: and came up with the idea of Pie Day on
Speaker 1: a nineteen eighty eight staff retreat following the death of
Speaker 1: Exploratory and founder Frank Oppenheimer. The date for celebration and well,
Speaker 1: because the first digits of pie are three point one
Speaker 1: four March fourteen, or three fourteen. Even better, March fourteenth
Speaker 1: is also Albert Einstein's birthday, making Pie Day a nerd
Speaker 1: double header. The first Pie Day celebration was nothing more
Speaker 1: than Shaw and his wife handing out slices of fruit
Speaker 1: pie and tea at one pm one f nine being
Speaker 1: the three digits following three point one four, but the
Speaker 1: holiday quickly gained fame in the Bay Area. Shaw eventually
Speaker 1: built the Pie Shrine at the Exploratorium, a circular classroom
Speaker 1: with a circular brass plaque at its center. Every Pie
Speaker 1: Day celebration at the Exploratorium ended with a colorful parade
Speaker 1: led by Shaw blasting his boombox with a remix of
Speaker 1: Pomp and Circumstance set to the digits of Pie and
Speaker 1: circling the Pie Shrine exactly three point one four times.
Speaker 1: The parade ended with the singing of Happy Birthday to
Speaker 1: Albert Einstein. The Prince of Pie passed away in twenty seventeen,
Speaker 1: but the annual Exploratorium party continues, as do Pie Day
Speaker 1: celebrations the world over. Popular ways to celebrate include baking
Speaker 1: a pie or some kind of circular treat, and holding
Speaker 1: pie recital contests. The current world record for memorizing and
Speaker 1: reciting the most digits of pie was set by Hiresh
Speaker 1: Kumar Sharma of India in twenty fifteen, when he recited
Speaker 1: a staggering seventy thousand and thirty digits in seventeen hours
Speaker 1: and fourteen minutes, but it's okay to start somewhere below that.
Speaker 1: Producer Tyler says that at one point back in the
Speaker 1: day he had about a hundred and fifty memorized, but
Speaker 1: right now can do around eighty three point one two, six, five, eight, nine, seven, four, six,
Speaker 1: two six, four three three eight, three two seven, nine,
Speaker 1: five zero two eight, four, one six, nine, three nine seven, zero,
Speaker 1: five eight, two zero, nine, seven four and four for
Speaker 1: five nine, two, three, zero, seven, eight, one six, four zero,
Speaker 1: six three six y. Today's episode was written by Marshall
Speaker 1: Brain and Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler Clay. For
Speaker 1: more on this and lots of other curious topics, visit
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