Darrell Smoot, Sr., age 78, was called home on . Visitation 10AM and Life Celebration 11AM Tuesday, in the Chapel of SMOOT FUNERAL ...
One smoot is equal to Oliver Smoot's height at the time of the pledge, 5 feet 7 inches (1.7018 m).
Two of his children went to MIT, and his son's nickname was "Son of Smoot" on campus. The smoot measurements are repainted every year by members of his fraternity. In 2011, the American Heritage Dictionary formally added smoot to its tome. As for the bridge, it was repaved in 1987, raising concerns that the smoot markings would be lost.
After consultation with MIT administration, and Smoot himself, the Institute formed the Smoot Measurement and Length Recalibration (SMaLR) Task Force earlier this year. The smoot was created in October 1958 after seven MIT students calibrated the Mass. Ave. bridge using 5’7 Oliver Smoot '62.
This chart provides a summary of Smoot conversions to different Length units.
The smoot is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank.
Stephen Smoot, a son of Oliver R. Smoot, Jr, was then age 21 and attending MIT was ready to redo the smoot measurements, although he was 5'11", so everything would be off.
Nobel laureate Dr. George Smoot, who conducted groundbreaking research into the origins of the universe, has died. He was 80.
Big Bang theorist and Nobel laureate George Smoot dies | AP News
The smoot, a nonstandard unit of length, originated from a fraternity prank in 1958 and has since become a part of MIT's unique culture. The story begins in 1958 with Oliver R. Smoot, Jr., an MIT freshman and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity pledge.