Background:
Most of us remember the formula our math teachers tried to drill into our heads, when we were a few years younger, for the area of a circle:
A = π r2 ("Aye equals Pi Are Squared") *Wait a minute - pies are round, not square!
Or you may remember this one instead, for the circumference of a circle:
C = 2 π r (That's right -- two pies are better than one, any day of the week!)
But how many of us remember the value of π (Pi)? Oh, I don't mean 3, or 22/7 (as a fraction), or even 3.14 (two decimals places). I'm talking about the loooong version, say ten places!
Well, for your private & personal Knowledge Base, here it is:
π = 3.1415926535
What does this have to do with today's Event, you might ask? Well, folks, let me fill you in on why the world's geeks, at least, are celebrating this monumental once-in-a-century occurrence!
If you take all eleven digits in the extended value above for one of our favorite numbers of antiquity, you can start with the first five to see something very familiar. 3-1-4-1-5 gives us a five digit combo that works for today's date, 3/14/15. Of course, this only works once every 100 years, 2015, 2115, and so on!
So how do the rest of the digits enter in? Well, those six remaining digits give us 9-2-6-5-3-5, and we used those to decide on the time for our Event, as did many other geocachers all around the globe, planning similar Events. Shortly after most of you arrive, precisely at 9:26:53 am (or 9:26:54, if you are a purist and round off 53.5 to 54), we can really celebrate Ultra Pi Day with the rest of the world. No champagne, just a bite of pie at the ready to welcome the moment would definitely be appropriate!
Our version of π is a relatively "simple" one -- only ten decimal places (eleven digits total). But mathematicians and super computers the world over busy themselves with calculating it to much longer values, like 1,000 or 10,000, or 100,000 places, and web sites abound with their work. For a humorous reference to same (this one a million-place example), click on the Related Web Page link at the top of this listing. For even more fun facts about π, check out this link to another Pi Day Event, this one in Minnesota.
Geocoin Keepsake:
I have already placed an order for a quantity of uniquely customized trackable Geocoins to commemorate the Event and the day. They will have a combination of colors and finishes that make them unique, and were created exclusively for River City Geocaching & Dining Society (RCGDS) for this Event. The manufacturer will mint only 50 in our finish/color combo, so they will be Limited Edition collectibles. I will have further information on ordering them soon, so stay tuned! Feel free to contact me if you are interested in obtaining any of these Limited Edition coins. Once they are gone, they are gone! There is a copy of the basic design (but NOT the finish and color of ours) available for viewing in the Gallery below.
π π π π π π π π π π π π π π π