Noisemaker Distributed on Pi Day, March 14, 2015

Noisemaker Distributed on Pi Day, March 14, 2015

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Description
Many Americans now write dates in numerical form, with the first digits for the month, the second for the day of the month, and the third for the year. Hence 3/14/15 represents March 14, 2015. When dates are written in this manner, the digits can be compared to the irrational number pi, the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle. This number is roughly 3, more precisely 3.14, and more precisely still 3.1415926.
Since at least 1988, some mathematics educators in the United States have celebrated March 14 as Pi Day. Celebrations were especially intense in 2015, because 3.1415 includes digits of the year as well as the month and day. This noisemaker was sounded at the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics Meeting in Washington, DC, at 9:26 on March 14, 2015.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
noisemaker
date made
2015
Physical Description
plastic (mouthpiece material)
paper (extension material)
Measurements
overall: 2 cm x 8.5 cm x 3 cm; 25/32 in x 3 11/32 in x 1 3/16 in
ID Number
2015.3169.03
nonaccession number
2015.3169
catalog number
2015.3169.03
Credit Line
Collected-for-the-Museum
subject
Mathematics
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Science & Mathematics
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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