March 14 is Pi day. Not pie, as in apple or blueberry, but Pi, as in a mathematical term.

The reason March 14 is Pi day is because in math, Pi is 3.14. On a calendar, 3.14 is March 14.

For you math lovers, Pi is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. For instance, in real life it is used to figure out how many acres a pivot sprinkler can cover. Or maybe how many pieces you can get out of an 8” strawberry-rhubarb. Many of us know about pi, even if we have forgotten how to use it. 

But P is interesting even when we’re not talking about coconut cream. For one thing, it has been around for nearly 4,000 years! The ancient Babylonians knew about it, as did the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Hebrews! In fact, some scientists think that the Great Pyramids in Egypt were built based on Pi. Of course others think that the Pyramids were built as a tribute to lemon meringue.

Also, the exact number of Pi is unknown. Although it starts with 3.14, it actually goes on forever. Computers have computed it out to 12 trillion digits! But that’s only where the computers stopped. The number itself didn’t. 

Another interesting fact is that Albert Einstein, who was one of the most brilliant and famous mathematicians ever, was born on March 14 – Pi day! Everybody knows that Einstein knew all about Pi, but many don’t know that his favorite kind of pie was peach.

So you’re probably wondering what the big deal is. Unless you’re a math person, you probably don’t use Pi much. However, if you’re a regular, breathing person you are much more concerned about PIE.

So here’s a little mystery for you. This is a column about Pi Day, but Pie was mentioned several times. WITHOUT LOOKING BACK, how many types of pie (the eating kind) are in this column?

I’m not going to give you the answer, but if you guess right without looking back, go and have some PIE! You deserve it!