Endnotes 14 March: Int'l Pi Day, Gene Hackman, Paperweights, New Bookish Series & More

When math and dessert collide

Hello, friends!

I think we can all agree: Eating a slice of pie is never a bad idea, but it's an even better idea today. It's International Pi Day!

Pi Day started on March 14, 1988 at the San Francisco Exploratorium. Big shout-out of gratitude to physicist Larry Shaw who wanted to make math more relatable and fun, so he drew the connection between pi and pie.

A celebration of math and a buttery crust wrapped around a delicious filling, Pi Day is an excellent excuse to indulge — and maybe memorize a few decimal places of 3.14159. Because π is irrational, it has an infinite number of digits in its decimal representation, but if you want to learn a fun party trick, here's a catchy tune to help you memorize the first 100 digits of the mathematical constant:

More interested in dessert than calculating the circumference or area of a circle? Here are the best pies for Pi Day from Eater and 21 pie recipes from Serious Eats.

The University of California also served up a video that explains how to make the best pie ever using science:

And Slate answers the question, How did the American pie get its sweetness?

A less-sweet note: Dave was struck down by a nasty headcold this week, so we weren’t able to record a new episode of The Library of Lost Time. We’ll be back next Friday with a new installment.

Before I sign off and send you into the weekend with my favorite links of the week, let’s pay homage to the best lines about pie ever committed to film:

I am also very particular about temperature and things on the side. #teamsally4ever

Endnotes: 14 March

In further recognition of Pi Day, read all about the kebab pie that just won the British Pie Awards. ‘Featuring a hangover-friendly filling made up of principally chicken, beef, and a chili marinade with a sweet chili sauce, it was described as having an excellent overall bake and presentation by the chief judge.’

I cannot wait to watch Bookish, a new cozy-ish detective series starring Mark Gatiss as an antiquarian bookseller turned sleuth in 1946 London.

This is such a fun list! 10 noteworthy books for March from WaPo. (gift link)

Why not take a video tour of masterpiece paintings at Windsor Castle? Holbein! Rubens! Van Dyck!

This essay in Vox argues we’ve been reading The Great Gatsby wrong. ‘Gatsby is a much more complicated book than its pop culture footprint suggests. It’s big enough to survive all those turgid high school essays about color symbolism and the American dream, all those drinking parties with girls in backwards headbands, all those mediocre movies and bad plays.’

Inspiration for a late winter/early spring getaway: The Unspoilt Alps: Five European Ski Villages You’ve Yet To Discover. So pretty!

The loss of Gene Hackman a few weeks ago really hurt. In addition to watching his movies, this article about how he came to be an author will make you want to read his five novels. Hackman said he found writing relaxing. ‘I don’t picture myself as a great writer,’ he said, but I really enjoy the process.’ (I read his sea adventure Wake of the Perdido Starwhen it came out in 1999, and it was great!)

I learned about poet Andrea Gibson on Instagram and instantly fell in love with her work. This prose poem about things she loves is a joyous celebration.

One of the best things I read this week is a review of the new book Listen in: How Radio Changed the Home by Beaty Rubens (out in the US May 13). ‘The finest testimony… comes from a 1928 letter to the BBC from a clerk in a provincial city. I’m only writing to say how much wireless means to me and thousands of the same sort. It’s a real magic carpet.’

Another reason to travel: whimsical outdoor art installations. (Spoonbridge and Cherry is so cheery and cute!)

At the other end of the visual spectrum: 45 Abandoned Places Around the World That You Can Visit.

These artistic glass paperweights are pretty magical.

May your pie be topped with extra whipped cream.