What connects π to the OJ Simpson case, & other mind blowing Pi facts| #44
Also, the most famous disease in Bollywood
Happy Pi Day! 🌟
Pi day is celebrated on March 14th every year. This is because the value of π is 3.14 and America chose to use the strangest date format. If it were up to the rest of the world, we’d be celebrating Pi Day on the 3rd day of the 14th month of the year. Wonder what the 14th month would be named? How about Shmarch? Or Junetober? Monthy McMonthface perhaps.
March 14th is an annual celebration of Math and Science, given it is also the birth anniversary of Albert Einstein. Pi is a constant in life, much like the ‘Good Morning’ forwards on your family WhatsApp group. So to celebrate this day, we prepare some Pi pie in this week’s newsletter 🥧
Things we Learnt this week:
A student awaiting confirmation of their admission to MIT (the original one, not the Satya Nadella one), receives the email at 6.28PM on Pi Day. The nerds at MIT decided to honour Pi as well as Tau (which is 2 pi) with this. They got more nerdy in 2020, announcing the confirmations at 1.59PM exactly. Why this precise time? It's 3.14159. These nerds I tell you..
Talking of Pi day and random holidays - October 23rd is celebrated as Mole Day, but only between 6.02AM to 6.02PM. To understand the nerdiness of this - recall high school Chemistry, specifically Avagadro’s number which is 6.02 x 10^23. Now that you know, consider your life AnMole. Ba dum tss 🥁
Pi also played an important role in the OJ Simpson case. The prosecution had presented a prominent scientist Roger Martz as an expert of blood stains. During the cross examination, the defense asked him a difficult question - Do you know the value of pi? Martz stumbled and the defense attorney pounced on his inability. We aren’t sure if this played a role but as you probably know, OJ Simpson was acquitted of the murder of his ex-wife.
From IWTK, with love
You won’t believe some of famous everyday objects that were invented by women. Check out our post on Famous Inventions by Women.
March 12 was the 50th year anniversary of one of India’s most iconic films - ‘Anand’. Our thread about some fun facts about the movie.
Things we’re reading / watching / listening to:
Inside India: Sammakka Saralamma Jatara is a tribal festival celebrated in Telengana. During the festival, people offer jaggery equal to the weight of a tribal goddess and then take a holy bath. Delicious laddoos are made using ragi and jaggery called Medaram Ladoos. For more such amazing facts and recipes, do check this book out.
Diego Maradona: This gem of a documentary by Asif Kapadia follows the Maradona saga at Napoli. It shows the dichotomy of Maradona - from the genius who propelled his club to the top, to his cocaine habit that got him involved with the mafia. A definite must watch, even if you are not a football fan.
Who Wants To Quiz?
IWTK is collaborating with Harper Collins for a series of quizzes - the first of which is today live on Instagram. Head over to the Harper Collins Instagram page at 6PM on the 13th of March for a fun quiz on food and festivals.
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Stay hydrated, and carry a towel
❤️ IWTK