Whip out your TI-87 calculator this e-Day, February 7, and spot the little button that bolsters logarithmic and exponential functions on the daily. While you may not be too familiar with e, you’re surely acquainted with its more famous cousin, pi. Just like pi, e is an inexplicably recurring number in the world of mathematics. It has a never-ending chain of decimal points, the beginning of which is 2.718281828, and on and on it goes. This holiday is celebrated on 2/7 for the obvious reason that the date holds the same digits as e rounded to the nearest tenth.
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day on February 2 is when we ask are we in for six more weeks of Winter? Only a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil knows for sure. Each year on Groundhog Day, people flock to Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to await the forecast of the local rodent celebrity. Originating with German settlers, who came to Pennsylvania in the 1700s and brought their seasonal superstitions with them, legend has it that if Phil sees his shadow on February 2, the winter chill will continue. Oddly, if the weather is cloudy and he doesn’t see his shadow, we can expect warmer temperatures and early spring. Groundhog Day is a tradition to be cherished. And yes, it is also a film starring Bill Murray.
Super Bowl Sunday
Super Bowl Sunday takes place on the second Sunday in February — onFebruary 8)this year. It’s a day when America’s love affair with football springs into full bloom. After 17 hard-fought matches spanning 18 weeks, the two best football teams in the NFL battle their way to a world championship in the grandest TV spectacle in America.
But over the past 51 years, the Super Bowl has evolved into much more than a championship football game. It is a cultural phenomenon that nearly a third of Americans anticipate the whole year round, each for his or her own reasons: the spicy chicken wings, the hearty chili, the ice cold beer, the rowdy friends, the big-budget commercials, the spectacular halftime show, and last but not least, the football. So crack open a cold one, settle down on the couch, and flip on the TV—it’s Super Bowl Sunday!