Happy World Pi Day!
Pi, Greek letter (), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. It is approximately 22/7 and is usually calculated to 3 digits, 3.14. With the use of computers, Pi has been caculated to over 51 billion decimal places. Pi is an irrational number meaning it will continue infinitely without repeating. The symbol for pi,
And our Pi a la mode comes with a plate of shrimp: on Kate Bush’s album Aerial, in Pi she sings each number of Pi to 150 decimal places — or tries to: all is well for the first 53 decimal places when she falters, adding in a 3 instead of a 0 (what?!), she nails the next 24 digits but then, according to the Independent,
“it went to hell in a handbasket when she missed out the next 22 digits completely before finishing with a precise rendition of her final 37 digits.”
I had just had occasion to look up what a handbasket really is this afternoon — and came up empty. There’s some weak claim that it’s some sort of cart used deep within mines, but I’m thinking a handbasket is small, chic, works with any shoes and carries just the basics: lipstick, credit card, keys, Blackberry. And I suspect the lovely, photogenic, approximately-married Pam agrees with me there.For Pi Approximation Day (July 22, of course), I’m hoping the man of the house will bring me home a sweet little Gucci handbasket.