3/3/09 Meant Square Root Day

March 4, 2009

"A rare event is upon us, touted by math fanatics as Square Root Day," an Associated Press news story proclaimed on March 3, 2009 (3/3/09).

"We have but nine of these days in a century, and hope all can enjoy a little math fun," said Ron Gordon, a teacher in Redwood City, Calif. To highlight Square Root Day (SRD) this year, he promoted a contest for the biggest SRD event. The winner is to receive $339.

Hundreds of people came up with suggestions about ways to celebrate, ranging from cutting up root vegetables into squares to shaping food into square root signs. Gordon's daughter set up a Facebook page—one of several dedicated to the day.

"These days are like calendar comets," Gordon observed. "You wait and wait and wait for them, then they brighten up your day—and poof—they're gone,"

Square Root Day is celebrated on dates where the day and the month are both the square root of the last two digits in the current year. Gordon celebrated SRD for the first time on 9/9/81 and has since become the day's chief promoter. The most recent SRD was 2/2/04; the next one will be 4/4/16—with perhaps a bigger contest prize—$4416.

And Pi Day (3/14) is just around the corner. Pi Approximation Day is later, on July 22 (22/7).

Source: USA Today, March 3, 2009; Oakland Tribune, March 3, 2009; CNET News, March 2, 2009.