Tens of thousands of people across the world, including some folks in our area, are competing in something called the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt, or GISH. Teams complete unusual tasks – such as balancing potatoes into a cairn, or planting trees – and upload photos of their work to earn points. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Six-year-old Irene of Rockingham County was enjoying a snack, helping her mother complete scavenger hunt tasks, when disaster struck. [benign child yelp] Here's her mom, Kirsten Beachy.
KIRSTEN BEACHY: My daughter was reaching into a bag of rainbow fish crackers, one of our favorite snacks. She pulled her hand out and they were all clinging to her hand … You never think your snack is going to turn around and try to eat you. Or your children. It's very sobering.
Documenting a "snack attack" is one of the 244 GISH challenges this year. Simpler challenges geared towards children include stacking coins or buttons as high as possible; more advanced ones include helping people register to vote or reenacting a movie scene.
BEACHY: I need to film my part of a scene from Jurassic Park. I'm going to be, what's the old guy, Hammond talking about how awesome Jurassic Park is.
Beachy is one of 15 team members on the – mind you, their team name starts with a K – Knotty Hookers, a group of pun-loving fabric artists. Some of them live around here, some in other states. And that's part of the fun of an online scavenger hunt; you can collaborate via an internet connection and complete challenges while social distancing.
BEACHY: In a time of a lot of anxiety and cruelty, it's really nice to have something that emphasizes creativity and whimsy and kindness.