File:Smoot sign.jpg
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| Description |
Cambridge: Harvard Bridge - 364.4 Smoots to MIT Taken in Boston, Massachusetts As described by the photographer: "The smoot is a nonstandard unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. It is named after an MIT fraternity pledge at Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, 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. The 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. Markings typically appear every 10 smoots, but additional marks appear at other numbers in between. For example, the 70-smoot mark is omitted in favor of a mark for 69. The 182.2-smoot mark is accompanied by the words "Halfway to Hell" and an arrow pointing towards MIT. Each class also paints a special mark for their graduating year. The rival FIJI fraternity previously (as they currently do not have an active chapter at MIT) painted over the markings in purple, their fraternity color, only to have them soon repainted, presumably by Lambda Chi Alpha. The markings have become well-accepted by the public, to the point that during the bridge renovations that occurred in the 1980s, the Cambridge Police department requested that the markings be maintained, since they had become useful for identifying the location of accidents on the bridge. The renovations actually did them one better, by scoring the sidewalk on the bridge at 5'7" intervals, instead of the conventional six. " |
| Date | Taken on 21 July 2004 |
| Source | https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/150875901/ |
| Author | Wally Gobetz |
| Permission (Reusing this file) |
  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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When this file was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, it was available from Flickr under the stated license. The Flickr user has since stopped distributing the file under this license. As Creative Commons licenses cannot be revoked in this manner, the file is still free to use under the terms of the license specified. See the Creative Commons FAQ on revoking licensing.
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This image, originally posted to Flickr, was reviewed on 14 February 2007 by the administrator or reviewer Dodo, who confirmed that it was available on Flickr under the stated license on that date. |
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| Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| current | 16:23, 24 January 2007 | | 2,045 × 1,363 (447 KB) | Ranveig (talk | contribs) | {{Information |Description= Cambridge: Harvard Bridge - 364.4 Smoots to MIT Taken in Boston, Massachusetts As described by the photographer: "The smoot is a nonstandard unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. It is named after an MIT |
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