Random Facts. 3/19/2018
The fall and spring equinoxes are the only two times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west.
On the first day of spring, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, beginning six months of uninterrupted daylight. A person at the South Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signaling the start of six months of darkness.
The myth that it is possible to balance an egg on its end on the spring equinox is just that: a myth. Trying to balance an oval-shaped object on its end is no easier on the spring equinox than on any other day.
Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.
Pi is an irrational number, meaning it cannot be written as a simple fraction. Instead, it can be expressed as an infinite, nonrepeating decimal (3.14159...) or approximated as the fraction 22/7.
Oddly enough, the day is also the birthday of Albert Einstein. He was born on March 14, 1879.
The ancient Babylonians knew of pi's existence nearly 4,000 years ago. A Babylonian tablet from between 1900 and 1680 B.C. calculates pi as 3.125, and the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus of 1650 B.C., a famous Egyptian mathematical document, lists a value of 3.1605. Even the King James Bible (I Kings 7:23) gives an approximation of pi in cubits.
Pi is represented by the lower case Greek letter, p, because it is the first letter of the Greek word meaning perimeter.
On the first day of spring, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, beginning six months of uninterrupted daylight. A person at the South Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signaling the start of six months of darkness.
The myth that it is possible to balance an egg on its end on the spring equinox is just that: a myth. Trying to balance an oval-shaped object on its end is no easier on the spring equinox than on any other day.
Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.
Pi is an irrational number, meaning it cannot be written as a simple fraction. Instead, it can be expressed as an infinite, nonrepeating decimal (3.14159...) or approximated as the fraction 22/7.
Oddly enough, the day is also the birthday of Albert Einstein. He was born on March 14, 1879.
The ancient Babylonians knew of pi's existence nearly 4,000 years ago. A Babylonian tablet from between 1900 and 1680 B.C. calculates pi as 3.125, and the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus of 1650 B.C., a famous Egyptian mathematical document, lists a value of 3.1605. Even the King James Bible (I Kings 7:23) gives an approximation of pi in cubits.
Pi is represented by the lower case Greek letter, p, because it is the first letter of the Greek word meaning perimeter.
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