George F. Smoot

The name "Smoot" is known in scientific circles as much as for measuring the distance between the cities of Cambridge and Boston, Mass., as for George F. Smoot's Nobel Prize-winning study of "wrinkles" in the universe.In 1958, Smoot's cousin, Oliver R. Smoot Jr. , an MIT freshman and Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity pledge, was rolled head-over-heels across the length of Harvard Bridge, which spans the Charles River and divides Cambridge and Boston.Oliver Smoot stood 67 inches tall — five feet, seven inches — and every 10 complete rolls, a marker was painted on the bridge walkway to mark a "smoot."The bridge was found to be exactly 364.4 smoots — plus an ear — in length.Nearly 30 years later, when the state Dept. of Public Works decided to replace the concrete walkway, MIT graduates successfully rallied to "save the smoot" markings on the fabled bridge.The Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), the state agency managing the bridge, went on record in support of the "smoot.""We recognize the ...

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