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Didn't some state once pass a law setting pi equal to 3 ?
Indiana House Bill #246 was introduced on 18 January 1897, and
referred to the Committee on Canals "midst general cheerfulness."
The text states, "the ratio of the diameter and circumference is
as five-fourths to four", which makes pi 3.2 (not 3), but there
are internal contradictions in the bill as well as contradictions
with reality. The author was a mathematical crank. The bill was
passed by the state House on 5 February, but indefinitely tabled
by the state Senate, in part thanks to the fortuitous presence
on other business of a Purdue professor of mathematics.
For details, including an annotated text of the bill, read the
article by D. Singmaster in "The Mathematical Intelligencer" v7
#2, pp 69-72.
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Last Update November 22 2008 @ 00:13 AM