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Oliver R. Smoot measured the length of the Harvard Bridge in 1958 using his height, which was 5 feet 7 inches, and the bridge was calculated to be 364.4 smoots long. The smoot measurement became a legend and is now used in Google Calculator and Google Earth. MIT offers a “Pirate Certificate” and alumni founded about 26,000 modern companies.
You’ve probably never heard of Oliver R. Smoot, but if you’ve ever used Google Calculator or Google Earth, you’ve had a chance to get the man’s measure. Smoot was an MIT freshman who pledged to Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity in 1958. Along with a few fellow hopefuls from the fraternity, Smoot was assigned the task of measuring the length of the Harvard Bridge in an original way. The group decided to use one of his height as a measure, and since Smoot was the shortest of them, thus submitting the most work, he became the obvious choice. Smoot lay down and was measured at 5 feet 7 inches. The team then calculated the length of the bridge to be 364.4 smoots, “plus epsilons.” The bridge marks they left became legend, and year after year MIT students returned there to replace them if they were erased. Eventually, the signs became so ingrained in the culture of the area that when the bridge was renovated in 1987, construction was done with 5-foot 7-inch concrete slabs, rather than the typical 6-foot pieces. Of course, with many MIT grads set to work for Google, it was only a matter of time before smoot was used in a modern way. Therefore, if you visit any of the above apps, you will see the option to measure things in smoot.
All’interno del Massachusetts Institute of Technology:
You can earn a “Pirate Certificate” at MIT by completing courses in archery, pistol shooting, fencing, and sailing.
The first human cancer gene was identified at MIT in 1979.
MIT alumni are responsible for founding approximately 26,000 modern companies.
