By the same token, we can define a smoot as 170 cm. Every 10 smoots is then 17
m. If we are going to promote metric here, then why mention non-metric words?
Jerry
________________________________
From: John Frewen-Lord <j...@frewston.plus.com>
To: U.S. Metric Association <usma@colostate.edu>
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2009 5:33:12 AM
Subject: [USMA:44142] smoots
Jerry talked about US isolationism in terms of measurements. Not only the US
as a whole - how about this one (tongue in cheek) from Boston, MA:
"Smoots" on the Harvard Bridge
MIT students are world-famous for their brains and creativity, and the
invention of the "Smoot" as unit of measure is no exception. In 1958, the
pledge class of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity marked the length of the
Harvard Bridge (which goes to MIT) using pledge Oliver Smoot as a measuring
tool. For the record, Smoot was 5 feet 7 inches tall, and the bridge is 364.4
Smoots (plus an ear) long. The bridge is marked with colored lines to mark
every 10 Smoots, and the markers are painted on the sidewalk on the outbound
side of the bridge. Location: Over the Charles River between Back Bay and
Cambridge
