In winter of 1963, students at Caltech’s Blacker House staged a publicity stunt involving how quickly could students break up a piano, from the junk yard, and pass the pieces through a 20-centimeter hole. The story is given in the March 1, 1963, issue of Time Magazine.
Albert Holm participated with the junior varsity team, pictured here. He is seen in a white shirt on the right side of the piano. Other members of the team are Dave McCarrol, Larry Anderson, and Bob Serafin.
Here are the two pages of the March 1, 1963, Time Magazine which reported on this activity. Read the section titled Piano Lesson.
Professor Richard Feynman was the judge of the contest. He received the the Nobel Prize in Physics two years later for work totally unrelated to piano reductions.
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Professor Richard Feynman in Blacker House’s courtyard.
The students nearest the camera are Ponzy Lu and Ivar Ambats. |
Professor Feynman checks whether the piano can play
Photo from the 1963 Caltech yearbook, The Big T. |
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| The Varsity Team disassembles its piano | The Varsity Team finishes the job |
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Dust and/or other blemishes have not been removed from these versions of the images.