By Hana Nobel, News correspondent

For many, the mathematical constant pi conjures up bad memories from geometry class, but for math nerds across the world, the number, represented numerically by 3.14, is fittingly celebrated every year on March 14.
Rebecca Watson, a freelance writer and president and founder of the Boston Skeptics, organized a ‘Boston Cream Pi Fight’ in the Boston Common Saturday to mark the makeshift holiday.’ The Boston Skeptics are a group dedicated to discussing topics like science, math, religion and politics in a casual atmosphere ‘- most often a pub.
Watson said she found the idea of a mass pie fight on Zoomdoggle.com, a blog devoted to having fun. A member from San Fransisco posted that he had planned a similar fight, and Watson said she thought it would be the perfect way to mark Pi Day.
Watson used the Boston Skeptics as a base to get her idea going. The event was also advertised on Facebook and Craigslist, open to anyone willing to wind up with Pie on their face.
The fight began exactly at 1:59 p.m (the next three digits of pi) by the gazebo in the Boston Common. About a dozen participants threw pies and piecrusts filled with whipped cream at each other.
Two members of the fight wore pi themed shirts and others sported goggles for protection when getting ‘pied.’ Boston Skeptics’ Vice President of Doing Stuff Jared Juliano wore a poncho to stay clean.
Tyler Akabane, a local music student, found the event online and said he enjoyed participating.
‘I’ve never pied someone before,’ he said. ‘Nor have I been pied.’
Akabane left the event with whipped cream in his dreadlocks.
Mary Parker, who was participating in her first Pi Day event, also had whipped cream on her face and in her hair. Despite being a little cold and sticky, Parker yelled out, ‘I am up for round two.’
A latecomer showed up with more Pie tins and whipped cream, and the second round began. This time the battle was dodge ball style.
Bystanders watched as two teams of three lined up behind a row of whipped cream pies with cherries and sprinkles on top. Watson gave the rules:’ ‘Everyone runs, grabs, smashes,’ and at the word ‘go,’ the teams again smashed Pies in each other’s faces.
Parker emerged from the second round with whipped cream on her face and in her nose.
‘I’m going to smell like whipped cream for a few hours,’ she said.
After cleaning off with paper towels and water, participants ate the leftover pies and invited spectators to eat as well. Juliano looked around at the whipped cream and crust remnants.
‘This is the best day ever,’ he said.
So is Pi Day just an excuse for mathematicians to consume round baked goods or is there really a point to celebrating the mathematical constant? Watson said she thinks the latter is true.
‘I think there’s something key to the point of celebrating, being a little nerdy, because there just aren’t enough holidays that celebrate nerdiness and mathematics,’ she said. ‘So Pi Day is the perfect holiday for outrageous geekiness. I think Pi Day is necessary.’
Currently, Pi Day is an unofficial holiday that math fans choose to celebrate, but according to Piday.org, Congress may soon officially recognize March 14 as Pi Day.’ House Resolution 224 has been proposed ‘to promote the importance of math and science education to a knowledge-based economy and American competitiveness.’ The site encourages schools to observe the holiday by having activities that ‘teach students about pi and engage them about the study of mathematics.’
Northeastern math professors Daniel Labardini-Fragoso and Mark Mixer said they don’t see any true value in Pi Day. They said they think the celebration is just for fun and that it doesn’t undermine the importance of the number.
‘You can’t take math too seriously to do it all day,’ Mixer said.
Watson said she has plans to repeat the pie fight again next March 14, but for those who can’t wait a whole year, July 22 is ‘Pi Approximation Day’ which celebrates the fractional approximation of the number pi, 22/7. July 22 is written as 22/7 in the European style of writing dates.
Even for those who dreaded math through school, there is no denying that Pi Day is a fun way to celebrate the often intimidating subject.’ Though the day may not truly raise pi awareness, any holiday that encourages throwing whipped cream at strangers is a winner.’
‘All I really want to do is smash someone in the face with pie,’ Watson said.