A Small Number With a Big Following

Bonny Becker

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By Don Troop

At precisely 1:59 a.m. on Sunday, Joe Anderson will arise at his parents' home and begin reciting, by memory, the first thousand digits of pi: "3.14159265358979323846. ... "

Mr. Anderson has performed this exercise previously on Pi Day, an informal holiday that math lovers observe every March 14 in honor of their favorite irrational number: pi—so tiny (it's closer to three than four) yet random and infinite (as far as anyone knows).

Mr. Anderson, 17, is a student at the