Pi of course is the ratio of the circumference of a circle with its diameter, the longest length you can measure from one point of a circle to a different point. This ratio has immense theoretical and practical importance and so is taught just about world wide wherever mathematics is valued.
Some businesses have seized on the novelty of this day by offering business opportunities such as:
'Pi' is a greek letter.
Ask a Greek speaker to pronounce 'Pi' and they will not pronounce it as 'Pie' but rather they will say it 'Pee'.
So phonetically, it's not 'Pie day' it's 'Pee day'. No pies involved.
Of course one could argue that, in the US at least, everyone in math class agrees to pronounce it 'Pie' so since that is the convention then 'Pie' it is.
I prefer to go to a more fundamental route.
It's a Greek letter. The Greeks pronounce it 'Pee', so it's 'Pee' and not 'Pie'.
I had a native Italian math teacher once and for a while no one could understand what he was talking about 'Pee' what ??
For the same reason, I will go out of my way to call a Porsche a 'Porsh-uh' and NOT a 'Porsh'.
And to the next degree out, I will call a Chevrolet a 'Shev-ro-lay' and not a 'Shev-ro-LET'.
As WC Fields, as Mr. Howard Bissonette, once put it, in reverse, about how to properly address his wife:
"Do not call Mrs. 'Bis-o-net' Mrs. 'Bis-o-net', it's 'Bis-o-nay'"
Ha ha ha !
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