I could explain it, but Wikipedia does it much more eloquently than I (and I'm in a hurry. :D )
The smoot is a nonstandard unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. It is named after an MIT fraternity pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha, Oliver R. Smoot (class of 1962), who in October, 1958 was rolled head over heels by his fraternity brothers to measure the length of the Harvard Bridge between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. One smoot is equal to his height (five feet and seven inches -- 1.70 m), and the bridge's length was measured to be "364.4 smoots plus one ear". Everyone walking across the bridge today sees painted markings indicating how many smoots they are from the Boston-side river bank. The marks are repainted each year by the incoming associate member class (similar to pledge class) of Lambda Chi Alpha
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I could explain it, but Wikipedia does it much more eloquently than I (and I'm in a hurry. :D )
The smoot is a nonstandard unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. It is named after an MIT fraternity pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha, Oliver R. Smoot (class of 1962), who in October, 1958 was rolled head over heels by his fraternity brothers to measure the length of the Harvard Bridge between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. One smoot is equal to his height (five feet and seven inches -- 1.70 m), and the bridge's length was measured to be "364.4 smoots plus one ear". Everyone walking across the bridge today sees painted markings indicating how many smoots they are from the Boston-side river bank. The marks are repainted each year by the incoming associate member class (similar to pledge class) of Lambda Chi Alpha ( ... )
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