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Your March 2014
ShillerLearning Tidbit
pi fun
Pilish sentences have words whose lengths form part of pi. Yes, I know I might awesomely be Pilish :).
Most writers know that pi is always written lowercase. But even at the beginning of a sentence? Even then, pi is not capitalized. And a preposition is still a word never to end a sentence with.
March 14 is pi day (see piday.org to get your pi fix). But that does not satisfy all pi lovers: Some also celebrate July 22 (the reciprocal of 22/7, a common pi approximation).
There is another reason to celebrate pi day: March 14 is also the birthday of Albert Einstein, Apollo 8 Commander Frank Borman, and comedian Billy Crystal.
pi facts
Babylonians knew pi 4,000 years ago
In 2005 Chao Lu recited pi to 67,890 places from memory
Over two trillion digits of π have been calculated
March 2014 Puzzler [Grades 16+]
3.1415926535897932384626433832795028...
a) Is π a normal number? That is, in π do the numbers 0-9 appear equally often and does each number appear without regard to what came before or after it?
b) OK, here's an easier one: What does this sentence have to do with pi? "How I need a drink, alcoholic in nature, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics!"
Provide the correct answer by March 25, 2014 to be this month's puzzler winner.
Answer to previous Puzzler [Grades 4-8]
I ordered a new table top. When it arrived it was 2 feet wide and 12 feet long. But I wanted it to be 3 feet wide and 8 feet long. Without changing its thickness how do I divide the 2' x 12' table into two pieces so they may be reassembled into a 3' x 8' table?
Solution:
I hope you enjoyed this short math break.
Sincerely,
Larry Shiller
Publisher
March Tidbit special: Save $25 on any kit. Use promo code KIT14. Expires March 31, 2014. Only at shillerlearning.com.
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