We at Searchlight have heard through various sources on the radio and the 'Net about "Pi Day" -- which happens to be TODAY!

Our next movie -- following I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, opening Friday, March 16th -- is the romantic comedy WAITRESS, which stars Keri Russell and opens May 2nd. It's about a woman who just happens to be a genius at making PIES.

So -- with that said -- -we couldn't resist the temptation to write a little something about "Pi Day" here on the Searchlight site.

Wikipedia describes "Pi Day" as:

"Pi Day ... is an unofficial holiday held to celebrate the mathematical constant Pi. Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3/14 in American date format), due to pi being equal to roughly 3.14. Sometimes it is celebrated on March 14 at 1:59pm (commonly known as 'Pi Minute')."

There's even a "pi minute!"

A fuller (though by no means close) approximation of pi other than 3.14 is: "3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679..."

Or, to get an even better idea, go here.

Wikipedia also says that March 14 happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday, and it's an accepted practice to sing "Happy birthday Dear Albert" on that day. (Or, rather, today.)

Even more interesting, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) often mails out its acceptance letters to be delivered to prospective students on Pi Day of all days.

So how does one celebrate Pi Day?

Here are some tips on how to celebrate Pi Day from a Web site devoted to just that.

It states, "Pi Day is a special day in the lives of many a nerd. Just like normal people celebrate Valentine's Day or National Pancake Day, nerds around the world will gather and join hands in the shape whose ratio of its circumference to its diameter is the most revered mathematical constant in the known universe."

It gives us 6 tips on to make your Pi Day memorable:

1) Create "pi ambiance" i.e. making the environment around you reminiscent of pi.

2) Convert things into pi, using 3.14 as a unit of measure. For example, instead of being 31 years old, you are "9pi years old."

3) Play "pi games" and make strange mathematical endeavors. What are pi games, you ask? Well pie-eating contests and pie-in-the-face fundraisers are two prime examples of course!

4) Eat "pi foods." They name two appoaches here: the "punny" (their word, not mine) approach - "like eating pineapple, pizza, or pine nuts and drinking pina coladas or pineapple juice." Or there's the shape approach, "like making cookies or pancakes shaped like pi or making a pie with a pi cut out of the center of the crust." AND THEY INSIST YOU EAT PIE.

5) Do a "pi mile run." Pi miles is just over a 5K.

6) Help the tradition continue.

There's lots more info where this came from at the above link - and naturally you can find links ways there to buy your own pi T-shirts, mugs, posters and more. So hurry!

Pi: The Religion

Lastly, here's an article from Monday's Washington Times about the "Church of Pi" (which means today's like Christmas for them). You can access the article here.

This article gave the best definition of pi (though I should remember it from my high school days): "Pi is a simple concept, the relationship between a circle's circumference and diameter: Multiply the diameter by pi 3.14159, to use a crude approximation and you get the circumference."

Also from the article:

"They are the acolytes of the church of pi.

And once a year many of them gather to talk about pi, rhapsodize about it, eat pi-themed foods (actual pie, sure, but so much more), have pi recitation contests and, just maybe, feel a little less sheepish about their unusual passion.

That day falls on Wednesday this year: March 14. Or 3.14. Obviously.

The question is why, of course. And if you ask the fans of pi why, a startling number of them will come back with the same question: "Why climb Mount Everest?" Because it's there.

But then they start talking about some very simple ideas. Like the beauty of a number that seems to go on forever and yet has no discernible pattern to it. Or about the valor of the memorization gymnastics, challenging oneself always to know more..."

And on that spiritual note, I leave you to think of pi -- and more deliciously, PIE.

WAITRESS hits theaters on May 2nd.

Click here to read "In Honor of WAITRESS: Searchlighters Vote on Their Favorite Pies."