{"product_id":"measuring-up-how-oliver-smoot-became-a-standard-unit-of-measurement-9781536230123","title":"Measuring Up: How Oliver Smoot Became a Standard Unit of Measurement","description":"\u003cb\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\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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. \u003ci\u003eMeasuring Up \u003c\/i\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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJenny Lacika \u003c\/b\u003eis a graduate of MIT and author of the Mathical Award winner \u003ci\u003eAgain, Essie?\u003c\/i\u003e, illustrated by Teresa Martínez. As a student, she crossed the bridge between Boston and Cambridge countless times. She measures about 0.96 smoots in height and now lives more than 2 million smoots away from the bridge, in New Mexico. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnna Bron\u003c\/b\u003e is the illustrator of \u003ci\u003eThe Five Sides of Marjorie Rice: How to Discover a Shape\u003c\/i\u003e by Amy Alznauer, \u003ci\u003eNo Horses in the House!\u003c\/i\u003e by Mireille Messier, and the Salma series by Danny Ramadan. She is also an animation director who has worked on Emmy- and Oscar-nominated projects, including short films and commercials. Anna Bron lives in Canada.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Mit Kids Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51615617417490,"sku":"9781536230123","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_20fa49aa-c346-42bf-bcdc-fca9fe287bef.jpg?v=1758105739","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/measuring-up-how-oliver-smoot-became-a-standard-unit-of-measurement-9781536230123","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}