Fact Check

Did Google Offer a Pi Calculator to Test Your Mathematical Savviness?

All hail International Pi Day!

Published March 14, 2021

BIDDEFORD, ME - MARCH 13: A Pi Day pie from Reilly's Bakery in Biddeford at Biddeford High School in Biddeford, ME on Friday, March 13, 2015. (Photo by Whitney Hayward/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images) (Whitney Hayward/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
Image Via Whitney Hayward/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Claim:
Google on International Pi Day 2021 provided users a pi calculator that ran calculations out and kept track of them.

For International Pi Day 2021, Google decided to test your math skills with an internet "Easter egg" hidden in the top left corner of its online calculator.

Pi Day is celebrated annually on March 14 (3/14) to celebrate one of the nerdiest constants — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, or about 3.14159.

“Pi has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. As an irrational and transcendental number, it will continue infinitely without repetition or pattern. While only a handful of digits are needed for typical calculations, Pi’s infinite nature makes it a fun challenge to memorize, and to computationally calculate more and more digits,” wrote the test preparation company Mometrix on its webpage dedicated to Pi Day.

The Google tool prompted users to enter the numerical sequence for pi, as was reported by The Verge.

Screengrab/Google

Clicking the twinkling asterisks around the pi symbol in the upper left corner of the calculator revealed the first three digits (3.14). You could then type those three into the calculator and click enter. The calculator kept track of your attempts in calculating pi out — as well as your highest score — in the area near the pi symbol. And if you really wanted to get serious, you could view the 100,000 digits of pi here. Be sure to have flashcards handy.

Madison Dapcevich is a freelance contributor for Snopes.