American Pi: the return

We like to bring you news of US phenomenon Pi Day every year, just so those of us who are Europeans can gnash our teeth that it is held on March 14 instead of 31 April.

This year Morton’s in San Francisco was selling key lime pie slices for $3.14 instead of $10.50, greetings card companies have begun to market Pi day cards, and the Ford Motor company ran a competition where a maths problem was flashed up every three minutes and 14 seconds.

Little known fact: Pi Day was created at the Exploratorium in San Franscisco by staff physicist Larry Shaw in 1988, who held a circular parade in its honour. Another little known fact: a pie chart in France is called “un Camembert”.