The Smoot: History's oddest measuring stick

On a cold October night, on the Harvard Bridge in Boston, Oliver Smoot and his fellow MIT fraternity pledges were doing something odd - measuring how long the bridge was in Mr. Smoot's height. But they succeeded, and eventually this would cause the unit - the Smoot - to be born. It is a story that lives on in the lore of Boston, MIT, the Internet, and the very concrete of the Harvard Bridge itself. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot https://news.mit.edu/2008/smoot-tt0924 Image: Courtesy MIT - https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/object/GCP-00023939?query=smoot&resultIndex=6 History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices