Pi, e, and the square root of 2 are famous irrational numbers - that is, the digits of their numerical values never end or repeat. They are also called transcendental numbers. Many clever phrases, sentences, songs, and poems have been constructed for remembering their digits. The number of letters in each word of the mnemonics corresponds to the digits. By amazing coincidence, perhaps the most readable of these mnemonics is a sentence in Book II, Chapter 9, of H.G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds that begins For a time I stood regarding - giving the first six digits of pi. By adding "it" - you can complete the sentence and get the first seven digits - 3.141592.
Mary likes transcendental numbers and palindromes. She was asked which transcendental number she preferred - pi or e. What was her answer?
"I prefer pi."
The sentence beginning For a time I stood regarding ..... in The War of the Worlds, was discovered by Michael Keith of Richmond, Virginia. He includes it in an unpublished work titled (guess what?) - How I Wish I Could Recollect Pi.
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