~~     Pizza Pi

So, today is Pi Day, or, is it really?

Pi Day celebrates the constant Tau divided by two, also known as Pi, but relative to what?.  Well, maybe whatever.  Ram Das said "be here now", and, with that in mind, give Vi Hart a listen:

On this day in history:

1590 – Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeated the forces of the Catholic League at the Battle of Ivry during French Wars of Religion, cementing his role as sole claimant to the throne, which, ironically, he would not attain until he converted to Catholicism.  Ah well, such is life.

1663 – According to his own account, Otto von Guericke completed his book De Vacuo.

1757 – Admiral Sir John Byng was executed by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch for breach of the Articles of War.

1780 – Spanish forces captured Fort Charlotte in Mobile, Alabama, the last British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans

1794 – Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin

1885 – The first public performance of The Mikado went down

1900 – The Gold Standard Act was ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard

1903 – The first national wildlife refuge in the US, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, was established by President Theodore Roosevelt

1942 – Anne Miller became the first US patient to be treated with penicillin, under the care of Orvan Hess and John Bumstead.

1961 – A USAF B-52 bomber crashed near Yuba City, California whilst carrying nuclear weapons.  It was later alleged that the crew's use of dexedrine to combat fatigue was a contributing factor.

1964 – Jack Ruby was convicted of killing Lee Harvey Oswald

1967 – The body of U.S. President Kennedy was moved to Arlington National Cemetery.

1978 – The Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Litani, a seven-day campaign to invade and occupy southern Lebanon

1982 – The South African government bombed the headquarters of the African National Congress in London.

1995 – Norman Thagard became the first US astronaut to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle.

Born this day in:

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

~~     Albert Einstein

1800 – James Bogardus, inventor and architect
1804 – Johann Strauss I, composer and conductor
1833 – Lucy Hobbs Taylor, dentist and educator
1835 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, astronomer and historian, noted 'canali' on Mars
1836 – Isabella Beeton, author of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management 
1837 – Charles Ammi Cutter, librarian
1847 – Castro Alves, poet and playwright
1854 – Paul Ehrlich, physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1862 – Vilhelm Bjerknes, physicist and meteorologist
1863 – Casey Jones, railroad engineer
1868 – Emily Murphy, jurist, author, and activist
1879 – Albert Einstein, physicist, engineer, and academic
1882 – Waclaw Sierpinski, mathematician and academic
1887 – Sylvia Beach, bookseller and publisher who founded Shakespeare and Company 
1908 – Philip Conrad Vincent, motorcycle engineer and businessman
1911 – Akira Yoshizawa, origamist
1912 – Les Brown, saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
1914 – Lee Hays, singer and songwriter
1915 – Alexander Brott, violinist, composer, and conductor
1919 – Max Shulman, author and screenwriter
1920 – Hank Ketcham, author and cartoonist
1921 – Ada Louise Huxtable, author and critic
1922 – Les Baxter, pianist and composer
1923 – Diane Arbus, photographer
1926 – François Morel, pianist, composer, conductor, and educator
1928 – Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, environmentalist
1932 – Mark Murphy, singer, songwriter, and actor
1933 – Quincy Jones, singer, songwriter, trumpet player, and producer
1945 – Michael Martin Murphey, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1945 – Walter Parazaider, saxophonist
1947 – Roy Budd, pianist and composer
1947 – Jona Lewie, singer, songwriter, and keyboard player
1948 – Theo Jansen, sculptor
1953 – Nick Keir, singer and songwriter
1960 – Heidi Hammel, astronomer and academic
1965 – Billy Sherwood, guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1970 – Kristian Bush, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1997 – Simone Biles, gymnast

Died this day in:

"Nobody's free until everybody's free."

~~     Fannie Lou Hamer

1883 – Karl Marx, philosopher and theorist
1932 – George Eastman, inventor and businessman, founded Eastman Kodak 
1973 – Howard H. Aiken, computer scientist and engineer
1973 – Chic Young, cartoonist
1976 – Busby Berkeley, director and choreographer
1977 – Fannie Lou Hamer, activist and philanthropist
1980 – Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, environmentalist
1995 – William Alfred Fowler, physicist and astronomer
2008 – Chiara Lubich, activist, co-founded the Focolare Movement 
2013 – Jack Greene, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
2016 – John W. Cahn, metallurgist and academic
2018 – Marielle Franco, politician and human rights activist
2018 – Stephen Hawking, physicist and author
2018 – Liam O'Flynn, uileann piper

Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Pi Day
Celebrate Scientists Day
Science Education Day
Crowdfunding Day
National Save a Spider Day
International  Ask A Question Day
White Day (Japan and other Asian nations)

Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies

The Mikado

Johann Strauss I

Casey Jones

Philip Conrad Vincent

Les Brown

Lee Hays

Les Baxter

Mark Murphy

Quincy Jones

Liam O'flynn

Oh yes, it appears that I forgot Karl Marx:

Please Note: Please do not post any Covid-19 related commentary in the comments. Thank you. There is a separate OT, aka The Dose, where all such material is welcome. Thanks again.

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?