The infamous Baker House Piano Drop got its start in 1972, following a debate about what to do with a broken piano. While the student handbook forbade throwing things out of windows, Charlie Bruno ’74 pointed out a loophole: The handbook said nothing about throwing things off dormitory roofs. After a little prep work, a tradition was born.

Scan of a black and white photo of students raising a piano about to drop over the edge of the building
Baker House residents initiate the tradition of piano dropping in 1972. Photo from the MIT Museum Collection.