Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Happy Square Root Day !

Yes, it's true.
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"REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Dust off the slide rules and recharge the calculators. Square Root Day is upon us.

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The math-buffs' holiday, which only occurs nine times each century, falls on Tuesday — 3/3/09 (for the mathematically challenged, three is the square root of nine).

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"These days are like calendar comets, you wait and wait and wait for them, then they brighten up your day — and poof — they're gone," said Ron Gordon, a Redwood City teacher who started a contest meant to get people excited about the event.

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The winner gets, of course, $339 for having the biggest Square Root Day event.

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Gordon's daughter even set up a Facebook page — one of a half-dozen or so dedicated to the holiday — and hundreds of people had signed up with plans to celebrate in some way.
Celebrations are as varied: Some cut root vegetables into squares, others make food in the shape of a square root symbol.

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The last such day was five years ago, Feb. 2, 2004, which coincided with Groundhog Day. The next is seven years away, on April 4, 2016."

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