What is the Real Origin of Pi
We just wanted to take a minute to clear up a common misconception about the origin of PI.
Many people are taught in school that Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter and that is totally false!
Pi was actually first theorized by the French statistician Ref R. Ree in the late 1800’s near Montreal, Quebec.
It’s quite complicated but we’re going to break it down for you right here.
Basically, Ree began to calculate how long the average hockey player actually played in a game which turns out to be 22 minutes out of a 60 minute game. Ree then divided 22 by seven (average number of times a player was on the ice) to arrive at 3.1428571 or Pi. This later became known known as a “Shift.” If you add up all the shifts (Pi) in a game, you get a player’s “Ice Time.”
Players fight with the head coach all the time over Pi, they even beg for more Pi, but a head coach always tells his players they need to earn their Pi.
And now you know the rest of the story…
Interesting facts about Pi
- Similar to the modern day official, Pi is close but not totally accurate.
- Pi is irrational, much like a Toronto Maple Leaf fan.
- The first 144 digits of pi add up to 666, a direct correlation to the New Jersey Devils.
- Pi is part of the equation used to determine a player’s annual salary.
- Just like video review, the decimal goes on forever!
- Pi was used to build Little Caesars Arena, the new home of the Detroit Red Wings.