I'm looking for an online surface area and volume calculator, where I plug in various measurements of a cylinder or sphere and it calculates the answer for me. But I want one that approximates pi as 3.14. [more inside]
posted by 23skidoo on Nov 5, 2009 - 8 answers

Say that Citizen Kane really wanted to find Rosebud - who would he call? Is there a kind of specific person who tracks down these personal lost things? [more inside]
posted by rileyray3000 on Oct 14, 2009 - 3 answers

I scrapped all my junk computers together and made the most rag tag beowulf cluster ever in my living room. Mostly as a conversation starter. But now I have to figure out what to have it working on. What's something that will sound really cool?
posted by brenton on Sep 12, 2009 - 10 answers

Does anyone remember a "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" sketch featuring a man who is so in love with the Magnum, P.I. theme song, that he marries it? [more inside]
posted by thenewbrunette on Jul 16, 2009 - 4 answers

What would be some good music with a theme of circles for pi day (3/14)? [more inside]
posted by crios on Mar 6, 2009 - 42 answers

How can I be a good Magnum PI for Halloween? [more inside]
posted by Twinedog on Sep 7, 2008 - 27 answers

Please help me find an online article on how things would be so much better if a circle contained pi radians instead of two pi radians. [more inside]
posted by Mapes on Mar 1, 2008 - 3 answers

As a kid in junior high, my friends and I used the expression "P.I." a lot. It stood for "public idiot", and we used it to make fun of someone when they did something foolish. Did we make it up, or has anyone else ever heard of it? Where did it come from (movie, book?)
posted by lohmannn on Feb 13, 2008 - 13 answers

Has anyone else ever had the insane/completely useless (save for its novelty) experience of having to memorize a certain number of digits of pi (52 in my case) for a middle school math class (or any class for that matter)? I had to do just that to pass my 6th grade math class. Was my teacher a little off or was she just trying to teach us the value of ..... something or other? (I still remember 26 digits, but that's as far as I can go.)
posted by inconsequentialist on Feb 22, 2007 - 59 answers

Does anyone have a recommendation for a private investigator/detective in the Boston area? Any tips for finding the best one, or helpful experiences working with one to share? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jan 14, 2007 - 3 answers

An out-of-left-field question for the mathematicians regarding the possible link between pi and the number 6 in geometry. [more inside]
posted by Navelgazer on Aug 14, 2006 - 22 answers

Did we really not know pi to more than 740 decimal places before 1947? [more inside]
posted by obiwanwasabi on Dec 20, 2005 - 19 answers

I am looking for a pie pan shaped like Pi. I need to make a pie for an upcoming pie party and I thought it would be fun to do it in the shape of the Pi symbol. If I can't find a pan I'll probably cut the shape of Pi into the top, but I was hoping one exists. However, Google hasn't turned up anything yet. Anyone know where I can find one online?
posted by mto on Oct 4, 2005 - 14 answers

Can someone give me a reasonably simple explanation of why e raised to the power of i times pi is equal to -1? I've always had trouble understanding this and thought I'd try the green.
posted by ORthey on Apr 26, 2005 - 11 answers

I just finished "Life of Pi" and I don't get it. I think I'm suffering from reading for the sake of reading and missed something along the way. Anyone care to share their take on this novel?
posted by grefo on Jun 19, 2004 - 21 answers