Talk:Harvard Bridge

message: smoots are not appropriate on wikipedia. this encyclopedia is written for a general audience. please convert the units to SI. thanks. —ptk✰fgs 17:24, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The smoots have been a celebrated part of the history of Boston for half a century and are the only notable thing about this bridge. SI units are given as well in the article.--agr 02:26, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

text: The Smoots article is absolutely necessary on Wikipedia.  It [Wikipedia] is here to have definitions and explanations of all sorts of things.  Especially the random, weird, different ones.  HobbesPDX 22:22, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

text: I'd buy that if the figures had changed, but they didn't. - Denimadept (talk) 22:20, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

text: Okay, now I've added smoots to every length measurement which wouldn't result in results of "1 sm".  The first convert in the article also allows readers to click on "sm" to find out what it means. - Denimadept (talk) 04:18, 19 January 2017 (UTC)
thread_title: Smoots

message: On the pamorama one of the Cambridge building looks like it on fire. This winter the building in back of that building had a fire. both buildings are residential and office space buildings. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.72.24.235 (talk) 02:14, 25 July 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: If I remember correctly, that's normal for that building.  It's the heating/AC system. It gives off mist in the winter. Denimadept 03:12, 25 July 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: In fact, I saw it giving off mist on 19 April. - Denimadept (talk) 06:38, 7 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Looks like it's 11 Memorial Drive or a building behind it.  I can't go over there and ask just now, since I'm in Colorado. - Denimadept (talk) 18:12, 13 July 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Fire

message: There are four digits of smoot precision!  Depending on the length of "and one ear", I'm not sure how you can round up a whole 5 decimeters, and call it only 3 digits of precision for that matter.  Are you saying Mr. Smoot has big ears?  Or are you saying that MIT students don't know how to measure precisely?  Does anyone know how big Mr. Smoot's ears are?  Or how drunk frat boys at MIT could get in 1958?  Denimadept 14:37, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Greetings, Denimadept.  As your comments appear to be directed at me, I hasten to be the first to respond.  I'm not saying any of the things you question, nor rounding up 0.5 m.  As a defender of the smoot, you will know that 5' 7" is the primary figure, as the Smoot page makes clear.  Multiplying 67 inches (only two significant figures there) by 364.4, and converting, gives us 620.14 m.  Regardless of ear size, it does not seem a stretch to express this as "about 620" - in fact rounding down a bit.  Further decimals might not be justified.  Cheers, Hertz1888 15:15, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: It seems that my math was off.  Now I'm trying to figure out how 619.5 got there.  If I use the figure in the smoot article of 1.702 m, I get 620.21 m.  If I use 67in × 2.54 cm/inch then multiply by 364.4 smoots, I get your figure.  I humbly beg pardon!  But then I'm not an MIT grad. :-D  Denimadept 15:35, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Neither am I, and no apologies needed.  It's kind of refreshing (as a respite from more serious pursuits) to be "worrying" about differences of less than one walking pace in the length of a sidewalk spanning the Charles.  Thanks for your many contributions to the development of the page. Hertz1888 16:20, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Before I got a GPS a few weeks ago, I used to laugh at 8 digits of precision.  I didn't have a good grasp on how inaccurate that was.  I thought it was more.  Now that I see how useful those 8 digits can be, I've stopped laughing and gotten appreciative.  Less than one walking pace is nicely precise.  When I make my trip to the Charles River (Real Soon Now) to take pictures of this and other crossings in the Basin, I'll be sure to cover this bridge really well.  And the GPS has been very useful for finding bridges so I can take pictures.  That's mostly what I bought it for.  But Connecticut River first!  The Charles and the Taunton can wait.  Denimadept 19:22, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Accuracy 

message: I'm working on an expansion/reworking of this article.  See User:Denimadept/Harvard Bridge for details, and please feel free to make suggestions.  As I'm keeping an off-line copy, please note that changes to the user page could be lost if I'm not aware of them.  I'll try to merge changes here into my copy, or let you know if there's a conflict. - Denimadept (talk) 15:33, 11 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Expansion 

message: I'm trying to resolve the lack of citations.  Given that this is a "story", there may be no way to resolve it as such.  I'd prefer to maintain the concept, but in a way that's sustainable.  Suggestions? - Denimadept (talk) 17:14, 12 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Looking back, the legend was introduced to the article nearly six years ago by Graft (talk), who remains active on WP.  You might ask him if he recalls whether he read or heard the story.  If the answer is "read", it might be possible to track down a published citation. Cheers, Hertz1888 (talk) 18:01, 12 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks, I've now asked her. - Denimadept (talk) 18:05, 12 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Her?  Pardon me. Hertz1888 (talk) 18:17, 12 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I think I saw something on the "Talk" page which used that pronoun, I don't recall just where.  I don't know the person, myself. - Denimadept (talk) 18:52, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

text: I just went back to look.  If you look at 's user page, I think you'll get where I'm coming from.  There aren't a lot of guys in my experience (which may be limited, I'll grant you), trying to overthrow "the patriarchy". - Denimadept (talk) 18:56, 12 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: This guy is. Graft | talk 16:27, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Fair enough. - Denimadept (talk) 17:11, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

text: His answer is at User_talk:Graft#Harvard Bridge and MIT legends.  Figured I'd post a pointer here so any peer reviewers can know how this question resolved so far. - Denimadept (talk) 20:56, 27 July 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Naming section with MIT 

message: I just replaced the old Jet Lowe bridge image (which also appears later in the article) in the Infobox with a new image hot off the "press".  I'm not sure I like it, though it does put the bridge in context.  What say y'all? - Denimadept (talk) 07:46, 17 January 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Infobox image 

message: At Oliver_R._Smoot and its talk page, I've challenged the phrase "364.4 smoots plus or minus one ear" based on strong sources which support "364.4 + 1 ear".
Walter Nissen 2010-07-10 01:11 01:11, 10 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Bridge Length

message: I'd really appreciate it if y'all would help me fix this per the review at Wikipedia:Peer review/Harvard Bridge/archive2.  I'm especially having problems substantiating the "longest bridge over the Charles" claim.  I've sent a query to MassDOT. - Denimadept (talk) 08:43, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Article review 

message: I think this article would be better if we used .  Any thoughts? - Denimadept (talk) 20:22, 21 April 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: I just modified the article using  for the Alger & Matthews references.  Maybe more later. - Denimadept (talk) 05:34, 13 August 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  {{tl|sfn}} use? 

message: Is this bridge often referred to as the "Smoot bridge"? My friend who lives nearby calls it that. Rua (mew) 14:53, 30 October 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: Locals would know what you're talking about, but I find only two or three written sources, and those are winking. EEng 16:38, 30 October 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Smoot bridge"? 

message: The caption for the panorama photo at the bottom of the article does not fit with the reality of the photo. The Longfellow Bridge may start at the extreme right of the photo, but it is not in the middle.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stevewaller (talk • contribs) 16:18, 8 March 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: Note that the image is side-scrollable.  If you scroll it, you'll find the Longfellow bridge is in the middle. - Denimadept (talk) 18:05, 28 March 2024 (UTC)
thread_title: Errors in caption