Happy Pi Day

In some circles (no pun intended) today, 3/14, is Pi Day, which celebrates the symbol for the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. You might think that this day was established by math people, those who can rattle off pi to gazillions of decimal places (and know how much a gazillion is). In fact, Pi Day was started so that those of us who are NOT mathematically inclined can be transported, in thought, back to high school math class and relive our terror of higher math. (Quick! What's a periodic function?*)


*Something your brain engages in, especially as you get older.


But for those who are terrorized rather than thrilled by math, or who steadfastly refuse to engage in any math-related functions on moral grounds, pi is easily transformed into pi(e). 3/14, then, becomes: Pi(e) Day.


For such individuals, Pi(e) Day can be spent doing complex calculations, such as "If I completely forgo all other food for this 24-hour period, how much pie could I consume?" "If I pile several slices of pie on top of each other, does it count as just one slice?" "Who do I know who has given up pie for Lent, so that I can have their share, too?" etc.


In honor of Pi(e) Day, we have prepared some trivia questions. Okay, mainly they were prepared by someone else and we just appropriated them. We thought about including some pi trivia as well, but the level of questions we personally could ask would all involve answers like "round," "not round," "sort of round," "roundish," "under certain circumstances, yes, a Root Beer float could be considered round," etc. So we'll just stick with questions about the pie we can eat.


True or False


1. In the 19th century fruit pies were often eaten for breakfast, because they were "considered part of a hearty meal before a hard day's work."


2. I wish I had lived in the 19th century.


3. The crust of early pies was referred to as a coffyn.


4. People did not eat the coffyn part of the pie.


5. Once people started calling the coffyn crust, they began to eat it along with the filling of the pie.


6. Early pies contained meat, usually fowl, and the legs were left hanging off the sides to be used as handles.


7. More people prefer their pie plain, with no ice cream or whipped cream.


8. Pie consumed on Pi(e) Day has a negative amount of fat or calories, such that you actually lose weight when you eat it.


Answers
1. True.
2. Duh.
3. True.
4. Duh. Would you eat something called a coffyn?
5. True. Well, we just made that up.
6. Sadly, but apparently, true. This meal was evidently the forerunner of soft shell crabs, which are popular here in Maryland among those who are not disgusted by body parts hanging off their sandwich buns. It also was apparently the forerunner of the stargazy pie, which is too disgusting to describe here.
7. False. Most forgo the pie entirely and consume the whipped cream right out of the can.
8. We wish. 


So, on this Pi(e) Day, load up your coffyn with some fowl legs and whipped cream, and dig in!