Memorizing Pi

The digits of Pi are fascinating. As the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, Pi has such a fundamental definition, and yet this ratio is irrational and so its decimal expansion never repeats. It is easy to be mesmerized by the digits of the decimal expansion:

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510...
and many people have tried to memorize digits of pi for fun.

One fun way to memorize the first few digits is to use sentence mnemonics for pi--- phrases in which the number of letters of each successive word corresponds to a digit of pi. Here are some well-known pi mnemonics:

"Wow! I made a great discovery!" (3.14159...)

"Can I have a small container of coffee?" (3.1415926...)

"How I want a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics." (3.14159265358979...)

Presentation Suggestions:
For more fun on Pi, see also Pi Approximations and Finding the N-th digit of Pi.

The Math Behind the Fact:
It is fun to try writing your own story or poem as a pi mnemonic. One decision you'll have to make is how to deal with 0's in the decimal expansion of pi (such as in the 32nd decimal place). Some choose to use a 10-letter word to represent a zero. Others choose to use non-period punctuation.

How to Cite this Page:
Su, Francis E., et al. "Memorizing Pi." Mudd Math Fun Facts. <http://www.math.hmc.edu/funfacts>.

Keywords:    pi mnemonics, pi day
Subjects:    geometry, other
Level:    Easy
Fun Fact suggested by: Francis Su
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