{"product_id":"measuring-up-how-oliver-smoot-became-a-standard-unit-of-measurement","title":"Measuring Up: How Oliver Smoot Became a Standard Unit of Measurement","description":"\u003cdiv data-a-expander-name=\"book_description_expander\" data-a-expander-collapsed-height=\"280\" class=\"a-expander-collapsed-height a-row a-expander-container a-spacing-base a-expander-partial-collapse-container\" style=\"max-height: none; height: 280px;\"\u003e \u003cdiv data-expanded=\"false\" class=\"a-expander-content a-expander-partial-collapse-content\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px;\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eCould you be the next smoot? One MIT student’s diminutive height becomes his mathematical superpower—and claim to fame—in a true story that’s entertaining and inspiring in equal measure. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen the five-foot-seven-inch Oliver Smoot and his friends at MIT decided to play a practical joke, he drew the short straw—and was selected to be the measurement device to carry it out. The task? Measuring the length of a bridge, one lying-down Oliver Smoot at a time. Author Jenny Lacika playfully introduces the idea of nonstandard measurement in this story about the creation of a new unit: the smoot. Anna Bron captures the hijinks of college kids having some fun, getting into trouble, and in the end, making math history. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eMeasuring Up \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003einvites readers over to the sillier side of mathematics and encourages them to play with measurement in their own lives. As for the smoot? This unorthodox unit of measure is now cemented into history, in sidewalk markings on a certain Cambridge-to-Boston bridge. Find out more about smoots, MIT pranks, unusual measurements, and further reading in the back matter.\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/div\u003eder-toggle=\"{\"allowLinkDefault\":true, \"expand_prompt\":\"Read more\", \"collapse_prompt\":\"Read less\"}\"\u0026gt;\u003ci class=\"a-icon a-icon-extender-expand\"\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-expander-prompt\"\u003eRead more\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e ","brand":"Mit Kids Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50301822206237,"sku":"9781536230123","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0901\/5692\/5213\/files\/9781536230123.jpg?v=1756487967","url":"https:\/\/bookdelico.com\/products\/measuring-up-how-oliver-smoot-became-a-standard-unit-of-measurement","provider":"Book Delico ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}