--- title: Pi Day 2016: Deals, Celebrations, History description: March 14 is celebrated annually as Pi Day because the date resembles the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter 3.14. canonical: https://time.com/4250116/pi-day-2016/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-14T02:00:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:30:46.647Z og:title: Why Pi Day 2016 Is Extra Special og:description: If you're looking for an excuse to pig out on pie or pie someone og:url: https://time.com/4250116/pi-day-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bfe982d8d37ae8a/698889ff428a9eb070cd1afd/gettyimages-140891270.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4100 og:image:height: 2306 og:image:alt: 140891270 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Pi Day 2016 Is Extra Special twitter:description: If you're looking for an excuse to pig out on pie or pie someone twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bfe982d8d37ae8a/698889ff428a9eb070cd1afd/gettyimages-140891270.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Pi Day 2016 Is Special > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 14, 2016 2:00 AM UTC  Greek letter Pi, lower case Greek letter Pi, lower case Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 14, 2016 2:00 AM UTC March 14 (3/14) is celebrated annually as Pi Day because the date resembles the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter — 3.14159265359 or 3.14 for short. Archimedes of Syracuse (about 287–212 B.C.) is credited with doing the first calculation of Pi, while British mathematician William Jones came up with the Greek letter and symbol for the figure in 1706 — which was later popularized by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler, beginning in 1737. Last year’s date — 3.14.2015 — was especially significant because it matched the first four digits after the decimal point. This year, some math lovers have already started calling 3.14.16 [“Rounded Pi Day,”](http://www.teachpi.org/uncategorized/3-14-16-is-upon-us-um-rounded-pi-day/) rounding up those four digits. In honor of this math holiday, expect to see a lot of offers for $3.14 slices of pie and [pizzas](https://www.facebook.com/BlazePizza/photos/a.430001300347026.115993.355317937815363/1270600592953755/?type=3&theater). The [admissions office at MIT](https://decisions.mit.edu/) is famous for handing out decisions on that day, while the Exploratorium in San Francisco has always [thrown a party](http://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/). And because 3.14 is also Albert Einstein’s birthday, [a celebration](http://www.pidayprinceton.com/) takes place in Princeton, N.J., in honor of both Pi Day and the mathematical genius, [who lived in the area.](https://www.princeton.edu/~oktour/virtualtour/korean/Hist01-Einstein.htm) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4250116/pi-day-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4250116/pi-day-2016/"},"headline":"Why Pi Day 2016 Is Special","datePublished":"2016-03-14T02:00:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:30:46.647Z","description":"If you're looking for an excuse to pig out on pie or pie someone","url":"https://time.com/4250116/pi-day-2016/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bfe982d8d37ae8a/698889ff428a9eb070cd1afd/gettyimages-140891270.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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