Happy Pi Day 2013, Math Nerds And Mathletes!

Pi Day 2013 is upon us, and math geeks across the internet are celebrating in a day and age where science and math are far more controversial than in recent years and far more than they should be.

Pi Day 2013 marks the 26th observance of the celebration of the calendar emulating the mathematical constant that is a ratio for determining the circumference of a circle.

Math fans know that Pi, or “?,” is an irrational number that never ends, trailing off into a lengthy string of numbers following 3.14. And as it is March 14, the numerical date in the US matches the first three numbers of Pi — no math parties for you, England.

Pi Day got its start way back in 1988 — and by 2009, the US House of Representatives officially supported designating the math holiday. On March 14, geekery over the math-centric date plays out in various forms across the web, where many users make math jokes and boost the signal for math overall.

But institutions of math, science and engineering take Pi Day felicitations a step further — the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology is known to send out acceptance letters on 3.14. Taking it a step further, decisions on admittance are posted online on Pi Day as well … but at precisely 6:28 PM (math nerds are nothing if not punctual), which is a nod to rival number Tau.

For younger math nerds, Pi Day 2013 may be celebrated eating Pi, watching Life of Pi, listening to Pi songs or learning more about the history of Pi, so one day they can grow up to rapidly refresh their MIT page at 6:28 PM to see if they got in.

On Pi Day this year, as students explore the digits of Pi, you can watch the Pi rap below — or you can browse the geekier corners of the web, where Pi Day shirts, Pi-shaped ice cubes and all manner of math trinkets are available for purchase.