- Welcome to the the Smiffenpoof Homepage. The Poofs originated in 1936 after a group of Smith College women attended a Smith-Yale University picnic in Northampton where the Yale Whiffenpoofs performed. Inspired by this group, these women formed their own a cappella group under a name similar to the Whiffenpoofs and became the first female collegiate a cappella group in the nation. Today, the ...www.smith.edu/smiffenpoofs