In 1897, Indiana almost passed a bill to change the value of...

In 1897, Indiana almost passed a bill to change the value of pi. 

An amateur mathematician decided he had proof that pi was not 3.14, but actually 3.2, so he convinced the state to take on the bill. It passed the House unanimously, made it through a Senate committee, and likely would’ve been approved if a professor from Purdue hadn’t been in town. 

After hearing the news, he went to the state- house, watched the debate, decided to intervene, and eventually convinced the Senate that the theory was nonsense.

(Source, Source 2)

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