Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 1: Calculate Pi Using Frozen Hot Dogs
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Sometimes it's good to throw a pie in someone's face. But throwing food to calculate Pi is even better. Believe it or not, of all the methods for calculating the most popular irrational number, there is none that is as interesting and surprisingly accurate as throwing food around the kitchen. Add some pi to your dinner tonight before wrap the house in a baguette circle. The best part is, it actually works!

Steps

Method 1 of 1: Calculate Pi Using Frozen Hot Dogs

1. 1 Choose the food you will work with. They don't have to be hot dogs, there are other options. First, the food needs to be long, thin, and firm - like a frozen hot dog. Secondly, they are relatively tough. Thirdly, their length should be about 15-20 cm. In the course of the experiment, you will understand why it is best to use food with exactly these characteristics. Celery, churros, or frozen ice will work (see Tips for a few more ideas).
2. 2 Choose a location from where you will practice your mathematical art. There should be about 180-300 cm of free space in front of you to throw hot dogs there.
3. 3 Clear the area. Nothing should stop your projectiles from safely flying to the ground.If you're going to experiment in the kitchen, move the table, or at least throw the hot dogs so they don't hit it in flight.
4. 4 Measure the length of the projectile. Try to make it as accurate as possible, down to the millimeters. Length is an important factor. For maximum effect, you need all the shells to be the same size. If you have chosen a product that does not have a specific length standard, such as celery, work on it with scissors beforehand and line up all the pieces.
5. 5 Apply strips of duct tape to the floor perpendicular to the direction of the throw. The distance between the two strips should be equal to the length of the hot dog. If it is about 15-45 cm, stick 6-10 strips; if the length is greater, the stripes should be less, and vice versa.
6. 6 On a piece of paper, make the columns "Shots" and "Hits". In the first column, you will note how many times you threw hot dogs, in the second - how often they landed, intersecting with the stripes on the floor (note that they should stop there, and not touch the strip and bounce).
7. 7 Get in position and DROP THE FOOD! Throw in only one hot dog at a time. When it falls, see if it intersects with the strip on the floor. If so, check the box for the Shots and the Hits column. If not - only in "Throws". When you run out of hot dogs, pick them up from the floor and repeat the process back to your position. Repeat as long as you like. The first results should appear after 100-200 throws (this is faster than it seems).
8. 8 When you're done, divide the number of shots by 2, and divide the number of hits by that number. For example, if you threw food 300 times, and 191 times it intersected the stripes, the calculation would be 300 / (191/2). Surprisingly, this gives you an approximate pi value!

Tips

• If you are uncomfortable with the prospect of scattering food (even for the sake of experiment), you can use sticks, pencils, or dowels. Any item will do as long as it is long, thin, even and firm. The thinner the better.
• Another option is ice cream sticks.
• Pi can also be obtained from the calculation of 22/7, but the calculation of 355/113 is much more accurate and reliable.
• For fans of mathematics - this experiment is really real! You can find evidence and details on this website (in English).
• This approach (using random numbers to solve a problem) is also known as the Monte Carlo Method.
• If you can't find a place to experiment, draw lines on a piece of paper about 90 cm high and throw toothpicks. It's not as relaxing as throwing food, but it works too.
• The more people there are, the more fun! If two or three people are doing the experiment together, it will take less time.

Warnings

• If you have a pet (such as a cat or dog), he may express a desire to eat hot dogs lying around on the floor and ruin your experiment. Better to temporarily close it in another room or outside.
• Throwing hot dogs is a lot of fun, but they're actually not ideal for experimenting because you can get even thinner shells. And the thinner the better. For maximum accuracy, try using raw spaghetti.
• Remember, this is an experiment, not a sport, and the idea is not to deliberately try to throw a hot dog on the line. Your throws must be completely random. Aiming at the stripes will break statistics and ruin your research.
• Don't be tempted to use bananas. They are uneven and can withstand a maximum of 50 shots before turning into mush.
• Poking a hot dog in the eye, especially a frozen one, is a fun idea, but still not the best.

What do you need

• Pen and paper
• Duct tape
• Calculator
• Long, thin, smooth and firm foods, ideally a pack of frozen hot dogs