Pi Day 2008 etceteras

Listening to Ira Flatow on today’s Science Friday, I learned, among other things, that National Pi Day is celebrated on March 14. Pi, as is in “the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter” and March 14 as in 3.14 (see the official National Pi Day and the Science Friday websites). March 14 is also Einstein’s birthday!

This plaza in downtown Oakland (below) would almost be a PIazza if it did not have the landscaped square. (Technically, a piazza is an open, i.e. “without grass or planting” square.) Notice the keep out sign for preservation.

Back to pi(e)s: if you don’t have one already, you should consider a backyard orchard. You could be celebrating Pi Day with a grown-in-your own-backyard fruit pie. If fruit is not your thing or you prefer pizza, why not order a pie from Pie in the Sky pizzeria on Center Street in Berkeley? However, backyard orchards are the latest “local-food movement” phenomenon, according to the New York Times, so plant a fruit tree or two, so can celebrate Pi Day 2011 or 2013 with your very own fruit pie.