At Loomis Chaffee, a Bronze Nose Shines From Overuse

A school news story says the nose has been rubbed so much that it shines.

Does it work? In May 2026 the school asked a senior, five days before Commencement. "I want to think it gives me good luck, but I'm not sure," she said. "Sometimes it works."

Sometimes is a strong record for a nose. Most noses have never helped anybody with a test.

I like a superstition that leaves room for doubt. You can be the sensible one who knows the studying did the work and still touch the bronze on the way past, just in case. Nobody asks you to explain.

The habit outlasts graduation. In 2025 the school interviewed M. Scott Havens, class of 1991, then the president of business operations for the New York Mets and that year's Commencement speaker. He lived in Taylor Hall for all three of his years there. "I still rub the nose when I walk by the dorm," he said.

A grown man with a front office still checks in with the bronze.

Our house has nothing in bronze. We do have the dog, who is old and sits by the front door every morning. Before her chemistry test last spring, the eldest patted him on the head on her way out. She got a B-plus. Before the next one she patted him twice. She got an A-minus. The middle one has started patting him before math. My wife asked whether anyone had tried studying. The eldest said yes, obviously, and also the dog.

The dog has not been told. He takes it the way Mr. Taylor seems to: patiently, for no fee, with no guarantees.