An interesting history of Pi can be found in Howard Eve'sAn Introduction to the History of Mathematics.One of the more exciting chapters in this story came about in 1897 with the introduction of House Bill No. 246 in the Indiana State Legislature:’Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana: It has been found that a circular area is to the square on a line equal to the quadrant of the circumference, as the area of an equilateral rectangle is to the square on one side’.Essentially this little gem of elocution says that circles and squares of equal perimeters have the same area which in turn implies that Pi is equal to four. The bill passed the House but because of newspaper ridicule it was shelved by the Senate. At the time everyone from mathematical quacks to religious zealots got into the act. Here is a typical incident that just might have happened during the confusion.