The first thing that popped into my mind is this is like something out of a Big Bang Theory episode, where the smart characters play these really ultra-intelligent (and yes, say it, nerdy) versions of games many of us not so smart people have played.

The Chicago Tribune's entertainment section has a story on what might be the hardest scavenger hunt there is. It's based at the University of Chicago. Think Nobel Prize winners, scholars, and again, Big Bang Theory.

“'I think of it as Mardi Gras meets the Great Books meets Theater of the Absurd,' said John Boyer, college dean at the University of Chicago. 'It’s a fascinating cultural transaction, but when students start to build nuclear reactors in their dorm rooms, it gives one pause.' He’s only half-joking." - Chicago Tribune

My oldest friend in the world went to the University of Chicago and became a doctor. He also married a doctor. It's not that these are not normal people, but they are scholarly and they are focused. They can and do study a lot. This all creates a lot of pent-up stress and pressure and they need a release.

Here's an FAQ about what is known as SCAV.

This is not your elementary school's scavenger hunt. Every year, the List contains items that must be found in the style of a traditional scavenger hunt, but there are many other items that must be built, performed, written, programmed, drawn, eaten, designed, painted, solved, won, and (sometimes) endured. - SCAV web page.

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From past SCAV hunt lists: an official Olympic condom, putting a Mariachi band into a restaurant, and getting a written endorsement from a U.S. Senator.

Again, if they do a reunion of the Big Bang Theory, this should be the plotline.

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