The Smoot Unit of Length

 Sorry to be gone for so long. This last week has just been...not good. I kept wanting to post, but something came up. 

For today though, I want to tell you about a unit of measurement created by MIT in the 1950's. The Smoot. Before I explain what it is exactly, I need to share the story. 

As part of their testing of pledges, a fraternity at MIT asked the pledges to measure the length of a bridge. Without using instruments. One of the pledges figured out a method and laid down, then had one of the others mark where his head was, and he would get up and lay down with his feet on the line. Oliver Smoot then calculated how long the bridge was, using his height to come up with an answer. 

This became a bit of a thing and apparently the fraternity keeps Harvard Bridge, the chosen bridge, painted with marks of the number of Smoots across it is, and there's a plaque commemorating 50 years of the Smoot. The picture below is from the article from Interesting Engineering, also below. 

One Smoot is 5'7", or 67 inches, or 1.7 meters, and it may have started as (and still be) a joke, but it's also something you might be able to find sometimes in places where measuring is required. Google Earth actually kinda popularized it a bit because it's one of the options they have for measurements. It makes sense, because this is the kind of joke they seem to like. 

There isn't a lot more to say about this, so I'll pass you my sources if you want more information, and I'll hopefully see you tomorrow. Have fun and I hope you smiled at this. 

Sources:

Interesting Engineering: The Smoot, the most hilarious mathematical unit

NPR: What's a Smoot

MIT news-- This one has quotes from the man himself

Larson Design Group; Understanding the Smoot

Aether- The Smoot

Atlas Obscura- Harvard Bridge and the Smoot

Google Earth, in case you want to measure things in Smoots