[imagesource: YouTube / Michael Abrahamson]

March 14 is just another day for most of us.

We’ve broken all of our New Year’s resolutions, and are desperately holding on for the upcoming long weekend and some respite from the working world.

Your average high school graduate knows that π (the pi symbol) equals roughly 3,14, and using the American way of denoting yesterday’s date, it’s 3/14.

Hence, Pi Day and the perfect opportunity to show off your outrageous memory skills.

Bedfordview mentalist and memory expert Michael Abrahamson decided he would celebrate by recalling the first 2 000 digits of Pi from memory while blindfolded.

According to Bedfordview and Edenvale News, Abrahamson has been at it for years:

The first time he undertook the task was in 2019 when he recited the first 1 500 Pi digits from memory in just four minutes and seven seconds…

In 2020 he had his eye set on breaking his previous record but when the pandemic hit he decided to put the idea on the back burner.

“I also put the idea off in 2021 because there was an influx of new variants and everything was still a little uncertain.”

2022 was the year and Abrahamson didn’t disappoint.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t sit through the full 2 000 digits but flick to any point after the 1:45 mark and you’ll see him rapping at a speed Kanye would be proud of:

That’s not a Springbok jersey, but rather a Norwich City top. Condolences as your team heads for another relegation from the Premier League.

Abrahamson says he successfully recalled the first 2 000 digits in five minutes, 12 seconds, which beat his previous world record by 18 seconds.

That’s a cool 6,4 digits a second, in order, flawlessly. The record needed six months of preparation:

He said that to be able to break the record was a combination of his ability to speak fast and his incredible memory.

“Most people, even if they can remember 2 000 digits, can’t speak fast enough to break the record in a shorter time.”

Even with over 25 years of experience in the memory game, Abrahamson said his attempt was no easy feat.

“I spent around five hours a day practising for the record. It has been a demanding task.”

If you happen to recognise his voice, it might be because he commentated during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and has done Olympic events as well as cricket and rugby in the past. Perhaps horse racing is his next port of call.

My cursory Google search reveals official Guinness World Records for most Pi places memorised (70 000 by Indian Rajveer Meena), most accurate value of pi, and largest human pi symbol.

[source:bandenews]