Seventh Annual Scavenger Hunt 1999

Friday, June 4, 1999 at 5pm through Saturday, June 5, 1999 at 6pm

Before the Event

Here you will find the rules and the list of things to look for during the Seventh Annual Greater New York Mensa Scavenger Hunt. 'The Dreaded List' will be revealed only after 5:00 PM on Friday, June 4, 1999.

PLEASE NOTE that seating at the restaurant where the 'End of Hunt' dinner is to be held is limited, so reservations are essential. Please call Mark Silverstein at 718-268-8906 until 4:00 PM on Saturday if you wish to compete or merely attend the dinner to observe.

During the Event

"52 PICK-UP"

GOOD DAY CONTESTANTS! Welcome to the 1999 GNYM Scavenger Hunt. This year's List contains 53 items, arranged as a deck of cards, including the Joker. Some are easy, some hard, and some absurd. Remember, you are not expected to have every item, and the idea is to HAVE FUN!

As long as you smile, laugh and get only a little frustrated during your search, we will have succeeded.

Your Hosts

The Official Rules

1. Teams are to consist of 1 or more contestants, and teams should register at the time of arrival at the closing dinner. (In past years, teams have sometimes been put together at the last minute by consolidating the findings of 2 or more groups.)

2. You are encouraged to be creative in bringing items which you believe fit the requested list of items. While you are free to bring several choices to represent a single item (which may be wise in case you get too creative for your own good), your team may only receive points once for each requested item.

3. Points shown (1 through 3) will be awarded based upon items accepted by the judges. A 3 point bonus will be awarded for any accepted 4 of a Kind and a 5 point bonus for any accepted Royal Flush.

4. No 2-Dimensional representations (photograph, photocopy, drawing, etc.) will be accepted except for items that consist of people's names (whether real or fictional). Where the indicated item is 2-Dimensional (e.g. 2 of spades or 7 of diamonds) no reproductions will be accepted, except for 2 of hearts. Even in cases where a 2-Dimensional representation is acceptable, computer print-outs will NOT be accepted. You may use the Internet to do research, but should not consider a print-out of a picture from the Internet as your item. EACH TEAM IS PERMITTED ONE EXCEPTION TO RULE 4.

5. The team with the highest score will be declared the winners.

6. In order to avoid any ties, the judges may award bonus points based upon such criteria as creativity, originality, humor or uniqueness.

7. Decisions of the Judges are arbitrary, capricious and final.

The Scavenger Hunt ends on Saturday, June 6, 1999, and teams should arrive at the restaurant by 6:00 PM. The restaurant is:

PLEASE NOTE that Farrell's is CASH ONLY. A complete dinner ((a) soup or salad, (b) shell steak, chicken francaise, shrimp scampi or penne & broccoli and (c) dessert and coffee or tea) is Price Fixed at $21.00 per person, including one soft or alcoholic drink, tax and tip.

PLEASE ALSO NOTE that seating at the restaurant is limited, so reservations are essential. Please call Mark Silverstein at 718-268-8906 until 4 PM on Saturday if you wish to compete or merely attend the dinner to observe.

After the Event

It Was a Game of Inches that Came Down to the Wire - and a Pop-Tart!

Mark Silverstein

The 1999 Scavenger Hunt winning team consisted of Ryan Martin, Greg Draves, Leon Feingold and Stacy Greenberg. For the first time in memory, there was a clean sweep with the winning team receiving credit for each of the 53 items on 'The Dreaded List.' In second place, one item shy, was Marty Goldberger, Vicki Scher and Celiane Reiner.

The 7th Annual GNYM Scavenger Hunt was held on June 4-5, 1999. It began with a list of items available by e-mail, fax and from this website at 5:00 PM on Friday, and ended with a flourish at a closing dinner at 6:00 PM on Saturday. For the third consecutive year, the dinner was held at Farrell's in Bayside, where a delicious meal was served by Farrell's polite and efficient staff.

This year's list included 53 items arranged as a deck of playing cards (including a joker). The theme was carried out through items relating to the numbers of the cards (for example, the 2's were a $2 bill (spades), a domestic partnership agreement (hearts), ski poles (diamonds), and an expired MetroCard [free transfers mean two rides for the price of 1] (clubs); or the picture value (the Jacks were Union Jack, Jack-O-Lantern, Jack "Legs" Diamond, and Jack Frost). Seven teams totaling 20 players competed, and 30 people in all attended the dinner.

The competitors were:

Team 1:  Marty Goldberger, Vicki Scher, and Celiane Reiner.
Team 2:  Susan Heimlich, Evadne Hodge, and Valerie Shepard.
Team 3:  Bob and Patty Buethe.
Team 4:  Bobby, Fran, and Stephanie Kolin.
Team 5:  Glenn and Margaret Savage.
Team 6:  Pam Eng, Steven Eng, and Maya Greenberg
Team 7:  Ryan Martin, Greg Draves, Leon Feingold, and Stacey Greenberg.

Additional dinner guests included the hosts: Mark Silverstein, Lou Marder, Arlene Marder, and Diane Barton, as well as Marty Merado, Cloty Cepeda, Gina Freeburg and Kerry Hazel. (My count is off, so I apologize to whoever is missing!)

As usual, creativity abounded. Plates from home had been expected as a substitute for "home plate" (the Ace of diamonds), but there were still two real surprises: Team 1 had a real home plate (borrowed from a little league coach, we hope), and Team 7 presented a 20+-year-old school or camp project consisting of a plate on which Stacey had drawn a picture of her home. For "sixpence" (the 6 of clubs), many teams brought in three two pence coins, or some other coin combination. But, the prize for irony in the '6' category was Team 3's submission for diamonds. The item was a "cookbook recipe requiring 6 eggs." Bob and Patty brought a recipe for hardboiled eggs, which read: "Take six eggs, bring water to boil, place eggs in water for 5 minutes."

While no one used a cheesehead for a "three cornered hat," Team 4 used foam padding cut into triangles to make not one, but two oh-so- attractive bonnets, which they then modeled for us. But the fashion show was outshone when Team 2, having nothing else for Good King Wenceslaus, serenaded us instead! Departing from the numbered theme were the "Lucky 7's," which led to some interesting interpretations of the requested items. A "Lotto betting slip with the number 52" was intended to be one of the sheets with the fill-in-the-pencil circles issued before Lotto was reduced to only 51 numbers. While at least one such sheet made an appearance, several teams had old losing Lotto tickets in which 52 had been a number picked. Team 3, however, went the extra mile by bringing one of the new, up-to-51-only betting slips, pointing out that the number 52 appeared on the back among the listing of the odds. Also among the 7's, "loaded or fuzzy dice" led to only one real pair of each. Instead, in science experiments gone horribly awry, several teams presented regular dice to which all manner of "fuzz" had been attached. In a unique interpretation, Team 5 brought a "load of dice," represented by a plastic container with 50 or so variously sized and shaped dice.

And what about that pop tart, you ask? First, a drumroll, please. This year's winning team was Team 7, which, for the first time in the memory of those polled, received full credit for every item on the list. Following closely behind was Team 1, with 52 of the 53 items, missing only the 8 of diamonds, a "box of eight vanilla pop tarts." While we poor organizers knew that this flavor was a rare commodity in these parts, we had not expected this item to be the bane of all of the teams. (By the way, one of us is a big fan of vanilla pop tarts, and if anyone knows of a local source of supply, please contact the author.) Not one real box of vanilla pop tarts appeared. Two teams did, however, make attempts, one successfully and the other not. Team 1 presented a regular box of pop tarts and noted that vanilla was one of the ingredients included. Close, but no cigar, although it did represent an amazing display of imagination and ingenuity. Team 7 brought a small cardboard box, inside of which were two 45 rpm records, one by the Spice Girls and the other by Banarama. Where did they go with this? "Well, they're 'pop' singers, their music is 'vanilla,' and they are all 'tarts.'"

So, what does this all mean? What prizes are showered upon our winners? Nothing less than the "Coveted Godfrey Award," which is handed down from winning team to winning team in an annual ceremony that finally frees the prior winning team from the burden of having to answer the question, "Now where did I put that damn thing?" Moreover, upon each year's winning team is bestowed the esteemed honor of being anointed organizers and hosts of the next year's scavenger hunt.

Want to know more about the "Coveted Godfrey Award"? Well, its unique origins and history are explained at each year's closing dinner, so we hope to see you next June!

The prized Godfrey being passed on to the winners
of the Seventh Annual GNYM Scavenger Hunt
at the after-the-hunt dinner in June of 1999.

For more pictures of Mensans at play,
visit the Greater New York Mensa
Photo Album

"52 Pick-Up"

The Scavenger List / The Deck of Cards:

The number in parenthesis following each item is its point value.