source file: m1399.txt
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 14:37:49 -0400

Subject: RE: circumference / diameter = 3

From: "Paul H. Erlich" <PErlich@Acadian-Asset.com>

James Jeude wrote,

>Yes, this posting is a hoax.  Also a hoax is the rumour that Indiana at
>one time attempted to legislate the same thing.

The latter is not a hoax. Please refer to Petr Beckmann's "A History of
Pi" for a detailed discussion of the bill in question. The Indiana bill
did not actually prescribe the number 3 but in fact was full of
contorted geometrical wordings which can be interpreted to yield values
of pi as high as 9! Also included was a rational value for the square
root of two.