We Made Uranium!
And Other True Stories from the University of Chicago’s Extraordinary Scavenger Hunt
9780226571843
9780226571980
We Made Uranium!
And Other True Stories from the University of Chicago’s Extraordinary Scavenger Hunt
Item #176: A fire drill. No, not an exercise in which occupants of a building practice leaving the building safely. A drill which safely emits a bit of fire, the approximate shape and size of a drill bit.
Item #74: Enter a lecture class in street clothes. Receive loud phone call. Shout “I NEED TO GO, THE CITY NEEDS ME!” Remove street clothes to reveal superhero apparel. Run out for the good of the land.
Item #293: Hypnotizing a chicken seems easy, but if the Wikipedia article on the practice is to be believed, debate on the optimal method is heated. Do some trials on a real chicken and submit a report . . . for science of course.
Item #234: A walking, working, people-powered but preferably wind-powered Strandbeest.
Item #188: Fattest cat. Points per pound.
The University of Chicago’s annual Scavenger Hunt (or “Scav”) is one of the most storied college traditions in America. Every year, teams of hundreds of competitors scramble over four days to complete roughly 350 challenges. The tasks range from moments of silliness to 1,000-mile road trips, and they call on participants to fully embrace the absurd. For students it is a rite of passage, and for the surrounding community it is a chance to glimpse the lighter side of a notoriously serious university.
We Made Uranium! shares the stories behind Scav, told by participants and judges from the hunt’s more than thirty-year history. The twenty-three essays range from the shockingly successful (a genuine, if minuscule, nuclear reaction created in a dorm room) to the endearing failures (it’s hard to build a carwash for a train), and all the chicken hypnotisms and permanent tattoos in between. Taken together, they show how a scavenger hunt once meant for blowing off steam before finals has grown into one of the most outrageous annual traditions at any university. The tales told here are absurd, uplifting, hilarious, and thought-provoking—and they are all one hundred percent true.
Item #74: Enter a lecture class in street clothes. Receive loud phone call. Shout “I NEED TO GO, THE CITY NEEDS ME!” Remove street clothes to reveal superhero apparel. Run out for the good of the land.
Item #293: Hypnotizing a chicken seems easy, but if the Wikipedia article on the practice is to be believed, debate on the optimal method is heated. Do some trials on a real chicken and submit a report . . . for science of course.
Item #234: A walking, working, people-powered but preferably wind-powered Strandbeest.
Item #188: Fattest cat. Points per pound.
The University of Chicago’s annual Scavenger Hunt (or “Scav”) is one of the most storied college traditions in America. Every year, teams of hundreds of competitors scramble over four days to complete roughly 350 challenges. The tasks range from moments of silliness to 1,000-mile road trips, and they call on participants to fully embrace the absurd. For students it is a rite of passage, and for the surrounding community it is a chance to glimpse the lighter side of a notoriously serious university.
We Made Uranium! shares the stories behind Scav, told by participants and judges from the hunt’s more than thirty-year history. The twenty-three essays range from the shockingly successful (a genuine, if minuscule, nuclear reaction created in a dorm room) to the endearing failures (it’s hard to build a carwash for a train), and all the chicken hypnotisms and permanent tattoos in between. Taken together, they show how a scavenger hunt once meant for blowing off steam before finals has grown into one of the most outrageous annual traditions at any university. The tales told here are absurd, uplifting, hilarious, and thought-provoking—and they are all one hundred percent true.
248 pages | 10 halftones | 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 | © 2018
Education: Higher Education
History: History of Ideas
Sociology: Social Psychology--Small Groups
Reviews
Table of Contents
Introduction
Item 256, 2007: Simon’s a Computer, Simon Has a Brain
Sarah Rosenshine
Item 24, 2010: The Trainwash
Adam Brozynski
Item 175, 1987: The First Hunt
Diane A. Kelly
List of 12 Trivia Items That Were Challenging in the Age before Google
Item 277, 2011: The World’s Largest Scavenger Hunt
Ezra Deutsch-Feldman
List of 23 of the Highest-Pointed Scav Hunt Items of All Time
Item 240, 1999: The Homemade Breeder Reactor
Fred Niell
Item 289, 2015: The T-Shirt Cannon
Jake Eberts
Item 159, 1994: Daddy Issues
Jennifer Joos
List of 6 Items That Maybe Weren’t 100 Percent Legal
Item 161, 2010: Culture Shock
Joel Putnam
List of 11 Items Whose Answer Was “Coleslaw”
Item 42, 2003: The Forbidden Fruit
Dave Muraskin
Item 32, 2003: We Tempt the Wrath of God
Doug Diamond
List of 19 Items That Were Only Slightly Blasphemous, Honestly
Item 58, 2004: The Girl with the Infamous Tattoo
Cristina Romagnoli
Item 133, 2004: Does Their Relationship Lack Trust?
Nicolle Neulist
List of 16 Items Documenting an Increasingly Esoteric Feud with Pulitzer Prize–Winning Journalist Mike Royko
Item 229, 2013: The Final Feast
Naseem Jamnia
Item 123, 2001: We Were Survivors
Connor Coyne
List of 18 Items about Food
Item 241, 2013: Graceland, Also
William Wilcox
Item 20, 2008: ScavAir
Steven Lucy
List of 30 Pun Items
Item 293, 2015: Where There Is No Duct Tape
Erica Pohnan
List of 14 Items That Animals Could Have Done Without
Item 238, 1999: We Like to Party
Moacir P. de Sá Pereira
Item 47, 2006: A Party at the End of Days
Dave Franklin
List of 10 Items That Referred to The Simpsons and One That Didn’t
Item 23, 2002: Relite Niteline
Matthew Kellard
Items 282–83, 2005: Do That
Nora Friedman
Item 0, 2015: Seriously, This Is a Real Wedding
Christian Kammerer
List of 19 Items Dedicated to University of Chicago Faculty, Lore, and Campus Life
Item 58, 2003: ShoreTrisLand
Leila Sales
Acknowledgments
Appendix A: A List of Scav Hunt Teams
Appendix B: Key Locations
Item 256, 2007: Simon’s a Computer, Simon Has a Brain
Sarah Rosenshine
Item 24, 2010: The Trainwash
Adam Brozynski
Item 175, 1987: The First Hunt
Diane A. Kelly
List of 12 Trivia Items That Were Challenging in the Age before Google
Item 277, 2011: The World’s Largest Scavenger Hunt
Ezra Deutsch-Feldman
List of 23 of the Highest-Pointed Scav Hunt Items of All Time
Item 240, 1999: The Homemade Breeder Reactor
Fred Niell
Item 289, 2015: The T-Shirt Cannon
Jake Eberts
Item 159, 1994: Daddy Issues
Jennifer Joos
List of 6 Items That Maybe Weren’t 100 Percent Legal
Item 161, 2010: Culture Shock
Joel Putnam
List of 11 Items Whose Answer Was “Coleslaw”
Item 42, 2003: The Forbidden Fruit
Dave Muraskin
Item 32, 2003: We Tempt the Wrath of God
Doug Diamond
List of 19 Items That Were Only Slightly Blasphemous, Honestly
Item 58, 2004: The Girl with the Infamous Tattoo
Cristina Romagnoli
Item 133, 2004: Does Their Relationship Lack Trust?
Nicolle Neulist
List of 16 Items Documenting an Increasingly Esoteric Feud with Pulitzer Prize–Winning Journalist Mike Royko
Item 229, 2013: The Final Feast
Naseem Jamnia
Item 123, 2001: We Were Survivors
Connor Coyne
List of 18 Items about Food
Item 241, 2013: Graceland, Also
William Wilcox
Item 20, 2008: ScavAir
Steven Lucy
List of 30 Pun Items
Item 293, 2015: Where There Is No Duct Tape
Erica Pohnan
List of 14 Items That Animals Could Have Done Without
Item 238, 1999: We Like to Party
Moacir P. de Sá Pereira
Item 47, 2006: A Party at the End of Days
Dave Franklin
List of 10 Items That Referred to The Simpsons and One That Didn’t
Item 23, 2002: Relite Niteline
Matthew Kellard
Items 282–83, 2005: Do That
Nora Friedman
Item 0, 2015: Seriously, This Is a Real Wedding
Christian Kammerer
List of 19 Items Dedicated to University of Chicago Faculty, Lore, and Campus Life
Item 58, 2003: ShoreTrisLand
Leila Sales
Acknowledgments
Appendix A: A List of Scav Hunt Teams
Appendix B: Key Locations