PLANO, Texas, March 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nobody knows "pie" like Pizza Hut, but this March 14, Pizza Hut is dropping the "e" in honor of Pi - 3.14 - everyone's favorite irrational number.

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In partnership with acclaimed mathematical genius John H. Conway, distinguished professor of pure and applied mathematics emeritus, Princeton University, and in honor of "National Pi Day" on March 14, Pizza Hut will release three math problems on its Hut Life blog (blog.pizzahut.com) with a unique challenge to consumers and mathematic wizards everywhere: be the first person to solve and submit the correct answer to any one of the problems for a chance to receive 3.14 years of free pizza from Pizza Hut. Varying in level of difficulty from high school to PhD level, all three problems will be released at 8 a.m. ET.

"Pi may be irrational, but free pizza is anything but," added Conway, who is profiled in the 2015 book, Genius at Play: The Curious Mind of John Horton Conway. "I'm eager to challenge America with these problems and find the next great pizza-loving mathematician that can solve them."

"In celebration of National Pi Day, which pizza companies worldwide have sort of adopted as their own special holiday, Pizza Hut is marrying math and pizza in a one-of-a-kind challenge to find our most math-inclined fans and reward them with our great-tasting pizza," said Doug Terfehr, senior director of public relations, Pizza Hut.

Celebrated in many different ways throughout the world, Pi Day is also the birthday of mathematical genius Albert Einstein, who is annually honored on March 14 in Princeton, N.J. For more information on this year's celebration, of which Conway will take part, visit www.pidayprinceton.com.

Math experts and Pizza Hut fans alike can visit the Hut Life blog at blog.pizzahut.com to view the Pizza Hut Pi Day math problems starting at 8 a.m. ET on Monday, March 14. Answers must be provided within the blog comments, which will be time stamped to determine the potential winner (fans can only win once). Pizza Hut equates 3.14 years of free pizza to approximately $1,600 in gift cards from the pizza restaurant company.

The winnings could be applied toward the pizza restaurant company's new $5 Flavor Menu, which features a medium one-topping pizza, an 8-count of boneless WingStreet(®) Wings, the Ultimate HERSHEY'S(®) Chocolate Chip Cookie, HERSHEY'S Triple Chocolate Brownie, Tuscani(®) Pastas, a double order of breadsticks or flavor sticks and four 20-oz. Pepsi(®) beverages for just $5 each when ordering two or more items.

Pizza Hut, the first national pizza restaurant company to remove artificial flavors and colors from its core pizzas, has a long heritage of breakthrough food innovation. The company is known around the world for its original Pan, Stuffed Crust, and Cheesy Bites Pizzas, and more. The pizza restaurant company also has the world's busiest website in the pizza category at www.pizzahut.com. Nearly 50 percent of the pizza restaurant company's orders come through digital channels, including more than 30 percent via mobile device.

About the Contest

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Begins 8 a.m. ET and ends 11:59 p.m. ET on 3/14/16. Open to residents in the 48 contiguous U.S. and D.C. Void outside of the areas specified above and where prohibited by law. Subject to Official Rules available at http://blog.pizzahut.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Pi-Day-Rules-FINAL-03-03-16-2.pdf.

About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant in the world. The company began 58 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, when two brothers borrowed $600 from their mom to start a pizzeria.

What started out small has become the biggest pizza company in the world and today operates more than 15,600 restaurants in more than 97 countries serving innovative pizzas, traditional favorites like the signature Pan Pizza, and much more. Pizza Hut also is the proprietor of the BOOK IT!® Program, which is a long-standing children's literacy program used in more than 630,000 classrooms nationwide. For more information, visit www.pizzahut.com. Follow Pizza Hut on Facebook (www.facebook.com/PizzaHut), Twitter (www.twitter.com/pizzahut) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/pizzahut).

*For all media inquiries, please contact Pizza Hut:
Doug Terfehr, 972-338-6992, Doug.Terfehr@yum.com
Courtney Moscovic, 972-338-8288, Courtney.Moscovic@yum.com

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SOURCE Pizza Hut