Scavenger Hunt - September 27, 1997

Ok, here's the 1997 scavenger hunt list, hosted by me, Mom, and The Guy. Teams had three hours, which I think wasn't quite enough.

This year's bogus item was the AAAAA battery. This year's goof was The Guy misspelling 'wasabi' as 'hasabi' in Japanese characters. (The 'ha' character is sometimes pronounced 'wa', which is why he goofed.)

All the other items exist. One of the first items turned in was a buttonhook that the team Because Pancakes Have No Bones had brought with them, just in case. They were terribly hard-core about it, arriving with a car full of junk and winning with 1093 points.

Georges (who was in town from Michigan) had the best story: he went to his ritzy hotel's (the San Jose Fairmont) concierge and asked, "Do you have any red silk pillowcases?" The concierge looked him up and down and said, "We're not that kind of a hotel."

Another good story: these four thirty-something engineers burst into a Taco Bell, ran up to the counter, and said, "Can we have a job application?" The guy behind the counter looked them up and down and said, "No."

The things in square brackets ([]) are explanatory notes. They were were not in the original list. There were five teams of 15 adults this year:

50 xxy xyy xxy xxy xy xxx xxy yxx yxy xxy xyxxx xxy xx xyxy xx yxy yyx xxy xxxx xy xxy xy xxy xx yxx xxxy xx yxy xxy x xyxx xx xxy yyx yyy x yx xxx xxx xxy xy xx xx yxx xxx xxxx yxyx yxy yxx xxxy yxx yxyx yxy yyy xxyxx yx yxy xyyy yxx yx yyyy xyxy xxxy yxx yxy xxx xy xy xy xy yyy xxx yy xx yx yxx yx [This is a 13x17 array that if you fill it in with dark/light corresponding to x and y (ignore blanks), is a picture of the words 'rub belly'.]
30 bow tie -- not pre-tied
10 letter opener
20 latex glove
30 lamb's ear [This is a type of plant.]
25 clarinet
15 purple floppy disk
10 kickstand
30 Power Ranger action figure
20 insulting 'Happy Nth Birthday' card where N is an integral multiple of 10
30 green heart
20 sippy cup
10 wedding cake doll couple
+40 bonus if couple of same gender manufactured in one piece
30 San Jose Lasers schedule
100 San Jose Lasers ticket
10 magnifying glass
30 The Book of Mormon
50 AAAAA battery [Does not exist]
30 snow shovel
50 button hook
20 gravy boat
30 Canadian flag
40 maneki neko [Japanese 'welcome kitty']
70 niddy-noddy [A thing used for skeining yarn]
20 electronic hotel key
30 contestant number from footrace
50 biography of Kate Shepard (sp?) [New Zealand women's suffrage leader]
100 someone who can write in Mongolian
25 Rawlings handware [we were looking for a baseball glove]
30 solid red pillowcase
30 wicker chair
10 road map for any foreign country except Canada or Mexico
20 job application form from fast-food restaurant
10 Baskin-Robins TM 'sample' spoon
30 10-foot pole
40 pen with a business slogan longer than four words
10 bar of soap from a motel
30 earthworm
20 spark plug gap measuring tool
80 [fresh wasabi (written using Japanese characters)]
50 one 1 cent, one 3 cent, and one 5 cent USPS stamp (must have all three)
10 Arco gasoline receipt
20 5-unit foreign coin
80 postcard of any painting by Bosch
30 baseball cap with 'San Jose' on it other than Sharks cap
10 electronic organizer
30 belt buckle with initial(s)
20 earplugs
30 macrame plant hanger
15 a haiku
10 plastic frog
10 shoe horn
20 feather duster
40 sari, worn properly
80 oar
40 piggy bank shaped like a pig
90 folding bicycle
20 overalls
10 sleeping bag
10 nail clippers
50 fix-it ticket
70 business card from professional athlete
20 night light
70 written, valid estimate for any new automobile, on dealer form or stationery
20 bucket of sand
80 Apple ][

For the American Association or Retired People (Persons?), the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Rifle Association:
20 membership card (each, max one each)
+20 bonus is two are under the same name OR
+50 bonus if all three are under the same name
40 an article of clothing in cowprint
70 Move the right C hand from near the right side of the face, palm facing forward, downward, ending with the index-finger side of the right C hand against the palm of the left open hand, palm facing right. Then, beginning with the palms of both open hands together in front of the chest, fingers pointing forward, bring the hands apart at the top while keeping the little fingers together. [This was the American Sign Language sign for photo album.]