By

Chenda Ngak /

CBS News/ March 14, 2013, 4:25 PM

Pi Day tip on how to remember mathematical constant to 15 digits

Wikimedia Commons

Happy Pi Day! Fans have decided to commemorate the mathematical constant on March 14 for years, but it was until 2009 that Pi Day was designated by the U.S. House of Representatives.

For those who don't know, Pi is defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. The first 15 digits of the never-ending number are: 3.14159265358979. 

Celebrants around the world honor the day in a myriad of wacky ways, including using actual pies to try to calculate the number Pi.

This year, Make magazine is paying tribute by giving one simple tip: How to remember Pi to 15 digits. The website reposted a note by American mathematician Rudy Rucker that says the best way to remember the first 15 digits of Pi is by counting the letters in this phrase:

"How I need a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics."

It's quite a mouthful, but people who are better with words than numbers may find it useful.

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webgone says:
There are 3 intelligent life forms in the classrooom.

A 14 and 15 year old, which makes up to 92 %.

Adding up to 100 % would need (65 and 35), but they stop thinking,

so they lost 3 % and keep stop thinking they are going down 89 % 79 % .......

Since 3.141592......
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twmat311 says:
Maybe I'm better with numbers. What's the tip on helping me to remember that phrase? Then how do I "count the letters"? (Ah, I get it - the letter count by each word...)

Anyone who remembers or had the TI-55, remembers 3.1415926...and probably also "ShELLOIL" [upside down; remember, what do you get from 142(Americans,)154(Arabs,)69(oil wells,) times 5(billion dollars)].
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