Smoots and Anchors

MICHAEL J. PALLAMARY / PS angle points

Smoots and Anchors

enjoy the use of the English I should mention that Bostyn loves to language, especially with regards ride motorcycles and when he’s not riding to writing and communication. on something with wheels, he likes watch- As Land Surveyors, we employ ing videos of motorcyclists. As we drove a broad range of terms, some along the tree lined road leading to the common and some not so much. Indeed, pumpkin farm, Bostyn started mumbling one of my greatest pleasures is reworking something about “anchors”—“nice anchors.” words and phrases into a tangible way of I kept looking out the window, trying to communicating. This sentiment brings me figure out what he was talking about, while to a recent conversation I had with a good he went on about all the “nice anchors.” I friend, one of the brightest Land Surveyors finally gave in and asked him, “Hey buddy, I know, Mr. Lee McComb. Besides being what are you talking about? What’s out friends, Lee and I enjoy a special relation- there? What are you looking at?” ship owing to our mutual friendship with “Anchors,” he replied. “Look at all those the late Curtis M. Brown. nice anchors.” Lee had just returned from Boston. It is “Anchors?” I asked him, “What anchors? where I began my surveying career in the What are you talking about?” He pointed early 70’s. Lee had been walking around the across the road again. “Where are they?” city along one of my favorite routes, from “Over there,” he said, pointing. “All over. Harvard Square, south, past MIT, down Look at those great anchors!” Massachusetts Avenue, over the 364.4 I shook my head, confused, looking for smoots long Harvard Bridge, a magnificent power lines and power poles, thinking he structure that spans the Charles River. must be referring to guy wires or something. Lee made mention of the smoots and I There are many ways to measure a piece There certainly weren’t any boats out there. of land. It is always important to use the estimated him to be 1.15 smoots long. We correct units. Anchors the way! After we passed another rolling field, I both enjoyed that. watched him wave his finger up and down, The “smoot” was created in October tracing the hills. 1958 after Oliver R. Smoot, a 5-foot, 7-inch It suddenly dawned on me! “Acres?” Is tall MIT pledge decided to measure the Standards Institute (ANSI, 2001–02) and that what you mean?” length of the bridge with his body. After then, president of the International “Yeah Poppy,” he replied, glad I was on repeatedly laying himself down, over and Organization for Standardization (ISO, the same page with him. “That’s it. Acres!” over, to see how long the bridge was, he 2003–04), a fitting recognition for his I nodded my head. I got it, in spite of the grew exhausted whereupon his fraternity unique brand of humor. fact that I’d come to like the anchor as a brothers carried him the balance of the This story of the smoot brings me to unit of measurement. ◾ way. In 2011, the unique unit of measure- a recent conversation I had with my ment, the product of a quintessential MIT grandson, Bostyn. A few weeks before student prank, was entered as one of the Halloween, my wife and I took him and our Michael Pallamary, PS, is the author of 10,000 new words to the fifth edition of the grandnephews hunting for pumpkins, an several books and numerous articles. He American Heritage Dictionary. annual family tradition. Needless to say, my is a frequent lecturer at conferences and seminars and he teaches real property to Smoot graduated from MIT with the grandson always wants to find the biggest attorneys and other members of the legal class of 1962, became a lawyer, and later possible pumpkin to eventually be carved profession. He has been in the surveying became chairman of the American National up into a jack-o-lantern. profession since 1971.