Date:  Sun, 10 Sep 1995 20:35:24 -0700

From:  Anton Sherwood <dasher[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]NETCOM.COM>

Subject: pi=4



In 1897, Indiana's lower house passed "A bill introducing a new

Mathematical truth" which made some dubious claims about pi and

related matters. (It doesn't _directly_ give pi a value.) A

professor of mathematics from Purdue happened to visit the capitol

while the upper house was debating the bill. By his intervention,

it was referred to the Committee on Temperance and never seen again.

(This from "A History of pi" by Petr Beckmann, 1970.)



Anton Sherwood  *\\*  +1 415 267 0685  *\\*  DASher[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]netcom.com