Necessity is the mother of all invention. Greg and I created this game the last time we were stuck in an airport, waiting for a flight that was more than three hours delayed. Everyone was bored, JetBlue had run out of free chips and the CNN anchors rambling on about the economy just weren’t cutting it as entertainment. We needed a distraction.
The rules of airport scavenger hunt are easy. All you need to do is grow a pair (of ovaries or cojones, take your pick), and talk to strangers. Revolutionary! Each team (*ahem, Greg and I) comes up with 10 questions, picks a section of the airport and then runs around asking questions. The first person to find different people who can answer each of the questions accurately, wins!
But the real win is meeting a whole bunch of really interesting individuals. I was given the opportunity to connect and learn from people whose paths would never again cross with mine—something I rarely take advantage of anymore. It’s amazing how often we go about our days, sitting next to people on the metro, walking past them at parties and never get to know them (even in the most basic sense).
I was surprised at how many stranded passengers wanted to participate, were stoked to get involved and tell their stories. Even those not participating looked pretty darn amused. I like to think our little game made their arduous wait a little less BLARGH. And that’s the whole point of being alive, right? Making things just a little better for others.
When you try the airport scavenger hunt, lmk the questions you used and how people responded!