CHICAGO (Reuters) - Bring in a "McDonald's Sad Meal," find a graduate thesis written on napkins or build a log cabin blindfolded.
Welcome to what's billed as the world's largest scavenger hunt, under way on Friday at the University of Chicago.
The hunt's targets are not old sets of keys or stray clothespins on the wanted list when children play the game going door-to-door. These items are food for the twisted student imagination on a campus known more for Nobel Prizes than spring foolishness.
Now in its 18th year, "Scav Hunt" began at midnight on Thursday with the unveiling of a 282-item list, each one worth a number of points, which teams of students seek to complete by Sunday when the game ends.
Some of this year's challenges: Build a "Calvin Kleinometer"; produce "a McDonald's Sad Meal"; construct a diorama tribute to dioramas with no infinite regressions; replicate Gustav Klimt (news - web sites)'s "The Kiss" using only lip prints made with cosmetics that haven't been tested on animals; and "demonstrate conclusively that there really is a wrong way to eat a Reese's (candy)."
The list has a handful of items that can be completed only from New Jersey, prompting several teams to send devoted members on the 1,000-mile road trip.
Four students can build a rustic but homey log cabin while blindfolded, handcuffed and ear-muffed, or produce a thesis on dining hall napkins, signed off by a thesis committee.
The character of the hunt stems from the "twisted imagination" shown by many Chicago students, according to 1990 graduate Rick Jeffries, a co-founder of the event.
The contest ends on Sunday afternoon when 15 judges evaluate the yield brought in by several hundred participants, who are formed into teams. The university said the hunt's size and range are thought make it the largest such event in the world.
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Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... fe_hunt_dc
I didn't know that a McDonald's Sad Meal existed. Unless you misprint the box by flipping the template upside down, then it can't be possible. And how can you fit a graduate thesis on napkins? They're waaaaaaaaaaaay too small.
Etc etc etc...