Editing Smoot (section)

==History==
{{Further|Oliver R. Smoot}}
[[File:Harvard Bridge Smoot plaque.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A plaque on [[Harvard Bridge]] on the history of the smoot]]
[[Oliver R. Smoot]] was selected by his [[Lambda Chi Alpha]] fraternity pledgemaster because he was deemed shortest—which made measuring the bridge the most labor-intensive—and he was the "most scientifically named."<ref name=":0" /><ref name="mitnews">{{Cite web |last=Gillooly |first=Patrick |date=2008-09-24 |title=Smoot reflects on his measurement feat as 50th anniversary nears |url=https://news.mit.edu/2008/smoot-tt0924 |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology |language=en}}</ref> Smoot repeatedly lay down on the bridge, let his companions mark his new position in chalk or paint, and then got up again. Eventually, he got tired from so much exercise and was carried thereafter by the fraternity brothers to each new position.<ref name=mithistory>{{cite web |first= Andy |last= Kostoulas |title= This Month In MIT History |url= http://tech.mit.edu/V119/N49/this_week-_49_c.49f.html |work= The Tech |date= October 12, 1999 |access-date= April 18, 2009 |archive-date= May 4, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090504192700/http://tech.mit.edu/V119/N49/this_week-_49_c.49f.html |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="mitday">{{Cite web |date=4 October 2008 |title=MIT Celebrates 50th Smoot-aversary with Party, Volunteerism, & Plaque |url=http://web.mit.edu/smoot/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology}}</ref>

Smoot graduated from MIT in 1962, and then attended [[Georgetown University Law Center]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], where he obtained his [[Juris Doctor]]. He served as chairman of the [[American National Standards Institute]] from 2001 to 2002,<ref>{{citation |title=Speakers Bureau: Oliver R. Smoot |url=https://www.ansi.org/other_services/speakers_bureau/smoot.aspx?menuid=10 |access-date=July 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030222102511/https://www.ansi.org/other_services/speakers_bureau/smoot.aspx?menuid=10 |archive-date=22 February 2003 |publisher=American National Standards Institute}}</ref> and then as president of the [[International Organization for Standardization]] from 2003 to 2004.<ref name="salute" /><ref>{{citation|url=https://share.ansi.org/shared%20documents/News%20and%20Publications/Speeches/Congressional%20Reception%20-%2002-26-03-final%20remarks.pdf|title=ANSI Reception Honoring Oliver R. Smoot as ISO President|date=February 26, 2003}}</ref> Neither organization has provided a standard value for the smoot.

Public knowledge and interest in the story began when ''[[Holiday (magazine)|Holiday]]'' investigated the marks on the bridge years later, and published an interview with Smoot.<ref name="mitnews" /> The prank's fiftieth anniversary was commemorated on October 4, 2008 as Smoot Celebration Day at MIT, which Smoot attended.<ref name=mitday />

A 2016 [[April Fools' Day]] article by the MIT Alumni Association announced that MIT would recalibrate the smoot to {{convert|65.7500|in|m|5}} and the ear to {{convert|2.48031|in|mm|6}}, and the bridge would thus be 372 smoots, give or take 11 ears.<ref name="slice">{{citation|url=https://alum.mit.edu/slice/mit-recalibrate-smoot|title=MIT to Recalibrate the Smoot|date=April 1, 2016|work=Slice of MIT|publisher=MIT Alumni Association|first=Jay|last=London|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:100Smoots.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|100-smoot mark with the [[Charles River]] and [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] in the background]]
On May 7, 2016, Smoot served as [[parade#Parade grand marshals|grand marshal]] of the alumni parade across the bridge, celebrating the 100th anniversary of MIT's move from [[Boston]] to [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]].<ref name="fleming">{{cite news |url= https://www.bostonglobe.com/2016/05/07/mit-celebrate-century-cambridge-today/yArGeYQ1dr5NDfsVR3MimO/story.html |title= By land and by water, MIT celebrates 100 years in Cambridge |last= Fleming |first= Nicole |date= May 7, 2016 |work= Boston Globe |access-date= May 9, 2016}}</ref>