With Pi Day coming up March 14, math lovers everywhere can take today as yet another chance to raise their calculators in celebration.
Square Root Day is here again, marking the date when the month and day are the square root of the year: 0 3/03/09.
There are only nine Square Root Days each century. This is the first in five years — and the last for another seven. The next will fall on April 4, 2016.
“It’s a cute, funky day,” said Ron Gordon, a teacher in Redwood City, Calif., who promotes the celebration of Square Root Day. “If you can wake up with a smile on your face today and have a little fun with math, that’s not a bad day.”
Gordon said there are plenty of ways to have fun with the quirky holiday, including square dancing and drinking root beer out of square glasses.
Whatever the festivities, he is holding a contest to see who can involve the most people in a celebration. The total prize money is $339, and entries must be completed by March 18 at 3 a.m. — 339 hours after Square Root Day.
Entries may be submitted to Gordon at rgordon@seq.org.
George Plaven: 303-954-1638 or gplaven@denverpost.com
