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Mnemonic for π


All the following poems describe a number.

  • 産医師異国に向こう．産後薬なく産に産婆四郎二郎死産．産婆さんに泣く．ご礼には早よ行くな．
  • Yes, I have a number.
  • How I want a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics.
  • Sir, I send a rhyme excelling．In sacred truth and rigid spelling． Numerical spirits elucidate, For me, the lesson's dull weight. If Nature gain, Not you complain, Tho' Dr. Johnson fulminate.
  • Que j'aime à faire apprendre un nombre utile aux sages! Immortel Archimède, artiste ingénieur, Qui de ton jugement peut priser la valeur? Pour moi, ton problème eut de pareils avantages.
  • Wie, O dies π． Macht ernstlich so vielen viele Müh!  Lernt immerhin, Jünglinge, leichte Verselein.  Wie so zum Beispiel dies dürfte zu merken sein!

The German version mentioned about the number --- π． These are all Mnemonic for π. Japanese uses sounds of numbers, but, other languages uses the number of words. From
Yes(3), I(1) have(4) a(1) number(6),
you can find 3.1416 (rounded).

I found these poems in

  • Akihiro Nozaki, A story of π, Iwanamishoten (1974) pp.77-78.

But this book also refers the followings:

  • Shin Hitotumatu, Essay for numbers, Chuuoukouronsha, (1972) p．109
  • Shigeo Nakano, the road to the modern mathematics, Shinyousya, (1973) p.19
  • Shuuichirou Yoshioka, The thousand and one nights of mathematics, Seinenshobou (1941) p.147， Gakuseisha(1959) p.107


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