Math lovers and pie eaters unite today: It's March 14, known as Pi Day. Designated as such because the date 3/14 represents 3.14, the first three digits in the mathematical symbol ?, Pi Day became official in 2009 when it was recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives. Most celebrations of Pi Day involve baking and eating pi's more delicious homophone, pie. With the support of standards, pies and pi alike can be enjoyed on this festive occasion.
Pies come in countless varieties, from cream to fruit to custard or even savory. Most pies are united in their base with a flaky, buttery crust made from dough. ISO 5530-1:2013, Wheat flour - Physical characteristics of doughs - Part 1: Determination of water absorption and rheological properties using a farinograph, is an International Standard that guides testing of wheat flour, determining the mixing behavior of dough made from this flour. The standard was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC 34, Food Products, subcommittee (SC) 4, Cereals and pulses.
A classic, crowd-pleasing pie filling for your Pi Day celebration is fruit. Apple pie is always a hit - in fact, it's the most popular pie in the U.S. Thanks to agricultural standards, apples and other pie filling fruits can be grown safely and effectively. ANSI/ASABE AD4254-12:2012 JUL2016, Agricultural machinery - Safety - Part 12: Rotary disc and drum mowers and flail mowers, provides safety requirements and verification for the design of mowers used in apple orchards and other agricultural harvesting. This American National Standard (ANS) was developed by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), a member and accredited standards developer of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Whether you've filled your crust with apples and cinnamon or chicken and potatoes, the last step is always the same: stick it in the oven. IEC 60335-2-6 Amd.1 Ed. 6.0 en:2018, Amendment 1 - Household and similar electrical appliances - Safety - Part 2-6: Particular requirements for stationary cooking ranges, hobs, ovens and similar appliances, is an international standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to assure the safe functioning of the household oven needed to bake your pie. IEC's Technical Committee (TC) 61, Safety of household and similar electrical appliances developed this standard. Secretariat duties for TC 61 are performed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), an ANSI member and audited designator. UL also serves as the U.S. National Committee (USNC) - approved U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Administrator to TC 61, carrying U.S. positions forward to the committee.
For all the math enthusiasts out there, Pi Day isn't just about baking and eating! You can also spend the day discussing the significance of the number ?. INCITS/ISO 2382-22:1986[R2011], Information Processing Systems - Vocabulary - Part 22: Calculators, is a standard developed by ANSI member and accredited standards developer the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) that guides calculators for all math queries, pi related or not.
This March 14th, eat a slice of your favorite pie, engage in some mathematical discussions with like-minded pi enthusiasts, and thank standards for their contributions to the worlds of math and baking.