Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Welcome to your Friday edition of Snippets and Soundbites! If you want even more randomness in your life, be sure to check out the monthly print edition on page 38 of each issue of ec.

Ready? Here. We. Go!

• Tuesday was March 3, 2009, which we all know is commonly written 3/3/09. That fact actually made the day special. You mathematicians out there probably already have it figured out: 3/3/09 was Square Root Day. The rare “holiday” occurs when the day and the month are both the square root of the last two digits of the current year. According to the article we read, people celebrated by cutting root vegetables into squares or preparing other foods in the shape of the square root symbol. (Huh?) Square Root Day only occurs nine times in a century. The next one will be April 4, 2016. But hold on a minute—Square Root Day isn’t the only “math” holiday. Pi Day is observed each March 14 (3.14), while Pi Approximation Day falls on July 22. Staff at the San Francisco Exploratorium observed the first Pi Day in 1988. They apparently spent the day walking around in circles. :/

• Ever heard of the USS New York? Maybe not. But the Navy’s newest amphibious warship is being built and will be commissioned later this year. Steel salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center has been used in the construction of the ship and the ship’s motto will be “Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget.” The huge vessel will be used in the effort to stop terrorism. Read more here.

• Most NCAA conferences are wrapping up their regular seasons this week, meaning that the Big Dance is just around the corner. And the ec team loves us some basketball. So, join in the conversation about your favorite teams on our discussion board. And don’t forget to get involved in the ec bracket challenge on Facebook! We’ll send the winner a T-shirt, but you’ll have to wait until the tournament finishes in early April.

• Love to sing? The Christian Festival Association (a coalition of more than two dozen Christian music festivals across the country) has announced plans for its 2009 National Talent Search. They’re partnering with Word Label Group, which promises a development deal to the winner of the nationwide search for new Christian musicians. Regional competitions will take place at 19 festivals throughout the summer, and a regional winner will be selected at each. Those 19 winners will come to Nashville in September for the national finals. For more information about where to compete, how to get involved, and everything you want to know, go here.