1998: The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Soon the article made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly spread around the world, forwarded by email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by physicist Mark Boslough.
Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.

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Easy tiger.!
I'm not sure where you get your 35hours and 2months, but remember that there's a whole world out there, with a wonderful proliferation of different timescales, work ethics and cultures.

There's no need to react defensively to comments like that - the ignorance of anyone submitted comments like that speaks for itself. Just don't lower yourself to their level.

Posted by notahothead  on  Thu Mar 31, 2005  at  09:30 PM

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Americans really don't know do they?
Posted by Notamerican  on  Fri Apr 01, 2005  at  01:58 AM

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2 months holiday is a better idea than 2 weeks... whats the point of being the wealthiest country in the world when you all have to work yourselves so hard?

Oh, and re. all the comments about "How can the Brits be so dumb" regarding some UK April fools, pay attention to this entry... no religious morons here. You guys should really do something about those southerners.... secede? Take away their vote? How can you all put up with living in a country where over 50% of your people don't believe in evolution?
Posted by Spangles  in  UK  on  Fri Apr 01, 2005  at  02:17 AM

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Hey! I am kinda curious after this Dr. Dino mentioned in one of the previous post by EYESEE. I couldn't find the article, neither via the link nor on the site itself... Could you please check it, EYESEE?
Posted by jude  in  NL  on  Fri Apr 01, 2005  at  04:19 AM

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Eyesee is right. I'd bet if he didn't link to that article, you wouldn't have castrated him like you did. Typical nazi Evilutionists.
Posted by The Yellow Dart  on  Sat Apr 02, 2005  at  10:45 AM

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When working with cubits, which are rather lagre, and metal in that time, it would be much easier to make a "circle" with a "diameter" of 10 and "circumference" of 30 than to make a perfect circle. The obsevers would still view the result as circular.
Posted by Daniel  in  Saunemin  on  Sat Apr 02, 2005  at  07:02 PM

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You think this is a joke. In the great land of the rising sun, Japan, they are ACTUALLY doing this! They are teaching children that pi is 3!!!

Japanese kids are taught that pi is "about 3".

http://www.japanecho.co.jp/sum/2005/320208.html
http://www.sapporo-u.ac.jp/~youth/28english/tanaka28e.html
http://www.jref.com/forum/showpost.php?p=172423&postcount=1

There is only one reason why Japanese make such great products, they work themselves to death. People are so overworked there, they commit suicide.

This is NOT a April fool's joke.
Posted by Alex  on  Sat Apr 02, 2005  at  08:39 PM

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So, you think this could never happen?

When I was teaching ESL to students in Japan,
one irate young man told me that his school
was indeed going to teach, for purposes
of simplicity, that pi = 3. Then, presumably,
once students got the hang of it, they could
confuse the hell out of them and tell them
it was really 3.1415926...

My student was angry about it, and I can't
blame him. This approach is the distant cousin
to the philosophy that "2+2=5" if the student's
confidence will be shattered by the truth.

That conversation happened in 2001.
Posted by Reid  in  Busan, SK  on  Sun Apr 03, 2005  at  05:44 AM

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Yellow Dart: If your comment about the "nazi Evilutionists" (which I am definitely NOT!!!) was meant for me, then I am really sorry I offended you somehow. I do not believe in Evolutionarism either: I am a christian. I was just curious on the article, I wanted to mail it to some of my friends, but I could not find it. That's all....
Posted by Jude  in  NL  on  Sun Apr 03, 2005  at  11:11 AM

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hahahahaha, keep the clergy on their toes.
Posted by jon  on  Mon Apr 04, 2005  at  01:26 PM

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this isn't that funny.
the Bible only speaks the truth.
if It says 3.0, then 3.0 it must be.
Posted by josiah  in  indiana  on  Tue Apr 05, 2005  at  02:16 AM

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"the Bible only speaks the truth.
if It says 3.0, then 3.0 it must be."

And this is why we're in such trouble.

They'd still burn Bruno and imprison Galileo in this country, it would seem.

D.
Posted by Don  in  California  on  Wed Apr 06, 2005  at  12:02 AM

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Oh My..... Searches for non-religious exclamation and fails.

Josiah You can't really beleive that?
Tell me you don't!
But then again the catholic church has only recently officially accepted that the Earth is round and that it orbits the sun not the other way round, so you might well be that deluded.
Posted by John  in  England  on  Sat Apr 09, 2005  at  02:51 AM

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ok, there's absolutely no point in having a religious debate because people have been doing that for centuries. There have been catastrophic massacres because of differences of interperatation of the universe around people. While others may not consider it totally reduntant to have fists flying over their own beliefs or opinions, I think it's probably better to let others have their own way as long as it's not hurting anyone else.

In response to the whole argument over Pi and 30 cubits and such and such, I fail to see the point, and I'll tell you why.

Numbers are a theoretical something that we have assigned to everyday tangible reality. If we create a set-in-stone system for designating the value of "units", then I fail to see how Pi, which is a whole name representing a specific number that goes in between 3 and 4, and therefore our designated units, differs from 30 Cubits (which, by the way, no one is totally certain of in terms of a modern equivalent), which is a whole name for something that was observed by ancient Christians which could very well be the exact same thing as Pi, only maybe they built their numerical system around Pi and not Pi around their numerical system which was already in place, which is what we have done. How do you know that they didn't consider perfect (or near perfect) circles to be divine because of their properites as a rather unique shape and decided to base their system of numbers on it? and thus 30 Cubits was the measure of Pi. I'm only guessing of course, I could be totally off, but that's my two cents. So please people...stop whining about how everyone but you is backwards, because that's never really helped our evolution in any sense of the word.
Posted by madHATTER  on  Tue Oct 04, 2005  at  01:52 PM

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I totally agree with what was stated by madHATTER. Mathematics are in no sense an Exact Science. Human Perception is.
In fact, this argument is good for all purposes when it comes to these "scientific view" versus "religious view" debates.
Science-driven people tend to have that annoying habit of building their beliefs from the observable universe.
Religion-driven ones build their universe around their beliefs and not their beliefs around the observable universe which is already in place, which is what we have done.
Posted by Gonzo  in  South America  on  Sat Oct 15, 2005  at  08:36 PM

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*winks* dat's the ticket. we'll all evolve intellectually as a species and come to accept our differences not as discrepancies, but as something to learn from.

hopefully.

until then, continue your useless bantering. and yes - debating IS useful, it helps us grow, and learn interpersonal skills, how to manipulate language to express what is closest to our truth to others, and how to accept others. but there IS a fine line between a debate and an argument. and when you cross the 'personal' line - which we have - then it's just attack and defence, which leaves people feeling angry and less inclined to listen.
Posted by madHATTER  on  Wed Oct 26, 2005  at  04:13 PM

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i totally fell for that when i heard that a few years ago! i was so annoyed by that! i am glad to see that it was a joke after all! :o)
Posted by courtney  in  california  on  Tue Jan 10, 2006  at  06:04 PM

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I have a very good chemistry teacher at school, who I asked how many decimal places he knows Pi to (as I know just over 65, and counting ).
He says, smugly:
"I can work it out..."
So I ask what he means, to which he says:
"Its just 22/7 isn't it."

Right. Stick to chemistry.
Posted by Marc  in  England  on  Tue Jan 10, 2006  at  11:41 PM

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WOW! This is really funny because I just cellibrated Pi Day on 3/14/06 ! I don't like anyone would ever pass that law.(especially if they knew anything about pi)
Posted by paigie-poo  in  New York  on  Sat Mar 18, 2006  at  05:01 PM

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Lol thats funny. Now all they have to do is convince everyone that Rap is stupid and ppl might believe them.
Posted by Luke  in  Wichita  on  Wed Mar 22, 2006  at  12:15 PM

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