π Day

I brought two mini pies to lab today. Also I forced everyone to watch Hard'n'Phirm's Pi song. Halfway through, one of the students cried, "I have so many questions right now!" ...and that was before the guy in the Mexican wrestling mask showed up. It was pretty magical to watch them go through the same process of WHAT THE FUUUUUCK?????!!!! that I felt upon first seeing that video. It was a formative part of my college experience & I was glad I could share that same wonder with them.  I've seen it so many times that it looks normal to me, so it was delightful to remember just how utterly bizarre it is. Also I told them that if they listened to it for 6 hours straight on repeat, they too could learn π to over 30 digits.

The previous Friday, a student had been asking about the effect of fire on bone. Today I brought in two books on taphonomy that addressed that and showed him the sections to read.
Me: "Oh, I should probably mention that these books contain the worst of humanity."
Him: "Uhhh...."
Then I explained that the skull on the front of a the book was an example of what happens during necklacing. I didn't need to explain any more after that.