It is probably the only number to have its own day! Since 2009, UNESCO has declared March 14 the International Day of Mathematics. The occasion is marked by numerous events. In particular, several schools around the world hold contests to see who can memorize the most digits of π: the best contestants generally manage to recite between 500 and 1,000 digits, which is remarkable!
But that is nowhere near the record held since March 21, 2015 by Rajveer Meena, an Indian student: 70,000 digits recited from memory, which took him around ten hours! Since the attempt took place before a bailiff, the record was officially certified and entered in the Guinness Book of Records. Others have surpassed this record, but their performances have not been officially validated. One example is Akira Haraguchi of Japan, who recited 100,000 digits one by one over 16 hours in October 2006.
