Last Monday, March 14th, was International Pi Day. Though the number has an infinite amount of non-repeating digits, many find it fun to memorize as many of these digits as they can. The McAuliffe Pi Day event on Monday consisted of students reciting as many numbers of pi as they could, and whoever won would get to pie Dr. Weiss-Wright in the face. Here is a Q & A compiled about eighth-grade champion Trent Massey and his experience with memorizing over 200 digits of pi.

Before the event:

Q: Why is pi important to you?

A: I like math, and it seemed like a fun thing to memorize to push my skills.

Q: How did you study the digits of pi?

A: I divided them into three or four numbers and I just memorized those, and once I had those memorized I learned more.

Q: Do you recommend this method for others memorizing the digits of pi?

A: It’s kind of hard, but yeah, I would recommend it because it’s a good way to divide it into smaller [groups]. You can also try to find patterns.

Q: If you plan on memorizing more digits of pi, how will you go about it?

A: I think I will try to keep what I have memorized, but I don’t think I will really memorize that much more because I have a lot to do.

After the event:

Q: How do you feel about your victory?

A: I am very excited, and I felt very proud. I was really nervous [during the competition].

Q: Why do you think you deserved to win?

A: I think that I put in the most work, and I was very determined, and I wanted to win very badly.

Q: Was it worth it for you to memorize this many digits of pi? Why or why not?

A: Yes. I was very happy, and I got to pie Dr. Weiss-Wright in the face.