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Bilgerat
Member
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Posted: Mon Oct 6th, 2008 01:39 am |
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For five decades, people crossing the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge have noticed markings that indicated its length in "Smoots." Some may have assumed that the engineers at MIT, which sits on the Cambridge side of the span, had invented a sophisticated unit of measurement.
Those who inquired further were told a quirky story that has become part of Boston lore. The Smoot was invented at MIT, yes, but not in any lab. It was the brainchild of a group of fraternity brothers on a cold night in 1958 who, in a fit of whimsy, used Oliver "Ollie" Smoot Jr. as their unit of measurement when they marked the bridge.
"It was 10 at night, and the wind was blowing, and so it was cold," said Smoot, who appeared at a ceremony at MIT yesterday in his honor.
The event honoring the man who became a measurement was attended by about 100 people, including Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons, State Representative Marty Walz, and MIT president Susan Hockfield.
"This has become a delightful chapter in the history of MIT, the history of Cambridge, the history of the nation, and, I would like to assert, the history of the world," said Hockfield.
The Rest of the Story
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