# 221: It's π Day!
Pi Day and how Oppenheimer is connected to it, ways to celebrate and a whole host of pie recipes.
What? Another Pi(e) Day?
Although there were years when every day was Pie Day for me, and many still, but as I dedicated myself to learning about dough and fillings my days of making three or more pies every single day for years, teaching as many as three and sometimes four workshops in a week in addition to working a full time job—(how did I do that?)—and writing three books in four years, I’ve slowed down to a more manageable one or two pies a week. I cook and bake for my family and dear friends, post recipes for you, and have pulled back on that four a week teaching schedule. Perhaps this is me embracing my wise woman years of which Pie will continue to be a very important part.
Along with baking therapy, Pie has gotten me through some rough times and is where I turned in times of the loss of parents, my daughter, relationships, marriages, and beloved pets. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve started over and most of those memories are safely tucked away. Those times have made me who I am but I don’t feel it serves me well to resurrect or dwell on them. Call me a Pollyanna but I’d rather keep walking forward towards a future of positive possibility than ruminating on the past.
But, I digress. Let’s talk about Pi Day because that special day is today!
Who Created Pi Day?
Long before I was teaching pie making, Pi Day was founded in 1988 by Larry Shaw, a physicist at The San Francisco Exploratorium. I would have loved to have met him as he sounds like a pretty cool guy. For example get a load of this…he and his wife celebrated their wedding anniversary 54 times on the "full moon in June" and would have a "re-wedding" every seven years, because the "body has pretty much become new every seven years.
I was thrilled to learn several years ago a neighbor who retired from The Exploratorium had worked closely with Larry and taken part in all the Pi Day celebrations he championed there. In conversations with her, it was clear that Larry believed if you make science accessible and fun, it can be for everyone. That very first Pi Day was held on March 14 at 1:59 to coincide with the first digits of π (Pi)—3.14159. Larry passed away in 2017 and left us all such a wonderful legacy that continues to grow in popularity.
Oppenheimer and The San Francisco Exploratorium
The San Francisco Exploratorium was the brainchild of Dr. Frank Oppenheimer, the brother of physicist J. Robert whose name you will recognize from the movie that just won a bunch of Academy Awards.
After working at Los Alamos with his brother, Frank became a university professor until he was blackballed during the McCarthy era. He was also a cattle rancher, a science teacher at a small local high school, moving on to the University of Colorado in 1959 where he created a “library of experiments,” which was the first model for The Exploratorium. Frank turned down an opportunity to plan a new branch at The Smithsonian to help to create The San Francisco Exploratorium, an interactive museum of art, science, and human perception based on the philosophy that science should be fun and accessible for people of all ages. He served as its first director and was involved with it nearly every day until his death in 1985.
The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, which was originally built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition. I remember seeing the outside of it when I was a little girl. It was also The Exploratorium’s first home where it opened in 1969. In 2013 it moved to the San Francisco waterfront on Piers 15 and 17 that were constructed in 1931 and 1912.
How To Celebrate Pi Day
So here are a few ideas to celebrate Pi Day.
Check out a science book from the children’s section of your library. I find children’s book explain many things in a way that even I can understand!
Read biographies about Albert Einstein (born March 14, 1879) and Stephen Hawking (died March 14, 2018).
Albert Einstein playing the violin, in 1927. In his later journals he wrote, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music ... I get most joy in life out of music.” (Photo by Wanda von Debschitz-Kunowski (1870–1935) If you have young ones or grandchildren, watch Sid the Science Kid together.
Take a walk in nature, watch a sunrise or sunset, look at the clouds, and on a clear new moon night go somewhere dark to see stars and planets.
Read about Rahul Mandal, a metrology researcher who won the Great British Bake Off in 2018, who says that baking is a combination of chemistry, biology and physics.
Bake cake, cookies or pie and share them because, like Pi, kindness and goodwill keep going on and on and on. Here’s the link to the Kindness Calendar for March, which I forgot to post earlier this month, too.
The area of a circle is pi times the radius squared (A = π r²) but, in this instance, we see that pie really can be square. (Photo by me)
Source Links
What I’m Watching
Waitress
The original movie.
The Broadway musical with music by Sara Bareilles and starring her, too.
Mildred Pierce
Kate Winslet stars in this five-part HBO miniseries about a divorcee struggling to support herself amidst the Depression by selling pie.
The original Mildred Pierce movie with Joan Crawford.
My Pi Pie Plate (photo by me)
What I’m Listening To
The Pi Song (100 Digits of π)
This one is a hoot and I do sincerely apologize for the ear worm you may have after.
Pie Recipes
Recipes with * are open to all.
Dough
Pies (Sweet)
Pies (Savory)
LEARN
Want to make pie with me? Next up is April 14: Caribbean Chiffon Pie. Register Here!
Comments are open to all today and I love to read them, so please do leave one. If you like this newsletter, please click on the little heart below.
Thank you, Kate! You always provide so much food (and/or pie) for thought! ❤️
Love the Deep (Dish) Dive about Frank Oppenheimer, Kate, and, of course, your Pies! Happy Pi Day! 🥧💕