Do you like Pi Day? You can thank San Francisco for that.
Tomorrow is Pi Day, the annual celebration of the ever-intriguing mathematical constant denoted by the Greek letter π. Children in math classes across America will soon discuss the magic of the circumference of a circle and, perhaps more memorably, devour delicious pies.
The nerdy holiday, celebrated on March 14 because the first three digits of pi are 3, 1 and 4, is recognized by the US House of Representatives. And in 2019 UNESCO assigned March 14 is International Mathematics Day.
But years before that, Pi Day was just a crazy tradition at a Bay Area science museum.
The Exploratoriumcurrently on the Embarcadero on San Francisco’s eastern waterfront, was founded in 1969 by physicist and professor Frank Oppenheimer, who wanted to create a more hands-on way for children to learn about science. (Oppenheimer was the younger brother of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb” and the subject of this year’s Best Picture Oscar winner.)
Frank Oppenheimer led the Exploratorium, originally located in the city’s Palace of Fine Arts, until his death in 1985. Three years later, museum officials found themselves at a staff retreat in Monterey trying to figure out ways to further develop the museum and to grow.
That’s when Larry Shaw, a physicist and media specialist at the Exploratorium, felt inspiration strike.
Pi has fascinated mathematicians for thousands of years, not least because it is an irrational number: its digits seem to go on forever without falling into a repeating pattern, a tantalizing glimpse of infinity. It’s the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, and circles themselves tend to carry a mystery because they have perfect shapes with no beginning or end, said Samuel Sharkland, senior program director at the Exploratorium.
To Shaw, pi seemed an ideal subject for scientific celebration. There was also a happy homophone in ‘pie’, which provided a tasty way to entice children and adults to learn about math. (Helpfully, pies are usually shaped like circles, too.)
The Exploratorium hosted its first Pi Day on March 14, 1988, with fruit pie for everyone in the museum to enjoy at 1:59 p.m. (that’s the next three digits after 3:14.)
Eventually, the Exploratorium added a celebration of Albert Einstein’s birthday to its annual festivities (he was born March 14, 1879). Every year, Shaw led a parade through the museum with a boombox that blared the digits of pi to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance,” culminating in a person walking around 3.14 times “Pi Shrine” – a brass plaque inscribed with the first 100 digits of pi – as he sang “Happy Birthday” to Einstein.
Shaw told SFGate in 2009 that he and other participants regarded the Pi Shrine with the reverence of worshipers as a religious site. “Our religion is a mysterious religion,” said Shaw, affectionately known as the “Prince of Pi” by museum staff.
“Like others, we walk around the things we respect,” he told the news station. Shaw died in 2017.
Although the museum still does everything he can to celebrate it every year. Pi Day has long outgrown its association with the Exploratorium. But that’s not something to regret, Sharkland told me.
“It just blossomed,” he said. “It’s something we’re proud of.”
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And before you go: good news
After another wet winter, California state park officials are expecting an impressive bloom of wildflowers this spring. USA Today reports this.
A number of climatic conditions – including rain, sunlight and humidity – affect when and how profusely the flowers bloom. When these factors come together in just the right proportions, California’s normally dry hills become covered with lupins, poppies, desert sunflowers and lilies that draw visitors to the state parks.
While it is challenging to predict the size of the bloom each spring, state park officials believe this year will be better than average. Parks across the state had a spectacular bloom last year.
Wildflowers are already popping up in some parts of the state, including parts of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and elsewhere more are expected from mid-March through May. The parks department has created a manual to the areas that are already in bloom. Get ready for some rainbow flora.
Thank you for reading. I’ll come back tomorrow. — Soumya
PS Here it is today’s mini crossword.
Maia Coleman and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team via CAtoday@nytimes.com.
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