IN THIS ISSUE
Quote Unquote: How to Make a Boston Map
Summer Public Scavenger Hunts
Pop Quiz: What Is Your Boston I.Q.?
Hunt News: Hunters Hit Facebook
Jokes: Driven Crazy, featuring George Carline, Craig Kilborn and Garry Shandling on cars
Web Adventures: The Monty Hall Problem
FAQ: Where's My Culture Vulture?
The Culture Vulture Archive
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QUOTE UNQUOTE: HOW TO MAKE A BOSTON MAP
Crush up a sheet of letter-paper in your hand, throw it down, and there is a map of old Boston. —Walt Whitman
SUMMER PUBLIC SCAVENGER HUNTS
You won’t be collecting objects (put back that lamppost!), but answers to tricky, humorous questions. No hunt requires that you know anything about the hunt location—all you need are sharp wits and a good pair of shoes. You can bring your own team of up to six people, or we’ll help you join up with kindred spirits at the start. Please note that the hunts are for adults except where indicated. Advance purchase required for all hunts. Watson Adventures’ hunts have been recommended by the Boston Herald, Citysearch, National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, ABC News, Daily Candy and many other media outlets. More than 87,000 hunters served since 1999! To buy tickets, click on the links below or call 877-9-GO HUNT (877-946-4868), extension 22.
The Haunted Salem Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, June 21, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
BOO! Sorry to startle you like that, but you might as well prepare now for this “spirited” search for the ghosts and historic highlights of this, um, bewitching town. Armed with only a flashlight, you’ll learn the tales of the restless souls you disturb. Find out how Witch Trials villain Sheriff Corwin has helped one house become the “fourth most haunted” in America, visit locations associated with the crushed-to-death execution of suspected wizard Giles Corey and assorted witches, see where Nathaniel Hawthorne met a ghost, and learn from one murder victim why you should never brag about treasure hidden in your home. Price: $20 per person. Also available August 9. Buy tickets now
The Bonkers in Boston Family Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, July 12, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Step into the time machine and set the dial for 1776, as you go in search for a Strong man in Faneuil Hall, enormous fruit in Quincy Hall, a giant’s tea kettle, Mother Goose’s flock in a cemetery, a place where Ben Franklin got dunked, a basketball star’s sneakers, enemy animals and more. For ages 7 and up. Kids must be accompanied by an adult and vice versa—teams with only adults are not permitted on this hunt. Price: $17 per person. Buy tickets now
The Secrets of Old Boston Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, July 19, 2 to 4:30 p.m.
If you think you know “Old Boston”—from the Boston Common to the North End—then prepare to be surprised. Discover the secrets of such historic places as Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere’s house, the Old North Church (where the lantern code was “One if by land...”), Old City Hall, the Old South Meeting House (where a particularly large tea party had its beginnings), the Old State House, the aromatic food stands in Quincy Market, Italian bakeries and much more. Starring Ben Franklin, Larry Bird, the Kennedys, Mother Goose, Gulliver’s tea kettle and an Irishman’s “bowl of tears.” Price: $20 per person. Buy tickets now
Special Offer: Buy More, Save More!
The Munch Around Cambridge Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, July 26, 1 to 3:30 p.m.
You can literally taste victory on this hunt, as you see the best of Cambridge and Harvard while making stops along the way to sample tasty treats. Your possible snacks include grilled cheese sandwiches, bubble tea, Sicilian pizza, a “Carnivale” crepe, jalapeno ice cream, creamy hot chocolate and cricket lollipops. Prices: $20 for 1 ticket; for blocks of tickets: $51 for 3 tickets ($17 per person), $60 for 4 tickets ($15 per person), $65 for 5 tickets ($13 per person), $72 for 6 tickets ($12 per person). Plus bring $10 cash per person for food purchases. (We ask you to bring cash so that you can have a wide range of food options, to suit your taste and diet.) Buy tickets now
The Haunted Salem Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, August 9, 6:30 to 9 p.m.
See June 21 for details. Buy tickets now
Special Offer: Buy More, Save More!
The Murder at the MFA Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, August 16, 2 to 4:30 p.m.
A curator has been murdered and left a trail of clues connected with secrets in works of art. As your team gathers answers about the art, you begin to piece together a sordid tale about greed, lust, pride, revenge and treachery, all revolving around the museum’s planned multimillion-dollar purchase of a Rembrandt. The murder victim knew too much—and now it’s up to you to learn what he knew and discover what drove one of four suspects to commit murder. To find out, you’ll have to crack a secret code left in the victim’s appointment calendar. Can you figure out who dunnit? Be prepared for our most challenging hunt. The darkened and less crowded galleries in the evening make a setting perfect for...murder. (Cue sinister laugh.) Price, which includes museum admission: $35 per person; $90 for three tickets ($30 per person), $120 for four tickets ($30 per person), $140 for five tickets ($28 per person), $162 for six tickets ($27 per person). Buy tickets now
New! The Secrets of the Seven Seas Scavenger Hunt
For a salty taste of the 19th-century sailor’s life on the high seas, and the kind of booty they brought back from distant lands, you’ll want to get shanghaied for this surprising scavenger hunt inside the Peabody Essex Museum. Your team will go in search of art and artifacts featuring harpooned whales, shipwrecks, the luxurious cabin known as Cleopatra’s Barge, drunken sailors carousing, nutty Japanese Netsuke, a mysterious hand beneath a fashionable gown, a castaway’s unusual calendar, the first penguin ever seen in North America and more. Price, which includes museum admission: $29.50 per person; students pay $22.50 with a valid ID presented at the hunt. Buy tickets now
See the Latest Schedule
We add hunts to the schedule more often than we send out this newsletter—particularly if a hunt sells out, we add another chance to do it. Stay tuned to the Boston Public Hunts page.
Summer Highlights in Other Cities
• Chicago: New! The Wild Wildlife Hunt at the Lincoln Park Zoo, July 19
• Los Angeles: The LACMA Mania Hunt, featuring the new Broad Contemporary Art Museum, July 19
• New York: The S*x and the Village hunt, featuring locations from the hit TV series S*x and the City
• Philadelphia: The Munch Around the Market Hunt at Reading Terminal Market, July 26
• Washington, D.C.: The N*ked at the Art Museum Hunt, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, August 9
How to Purchase Tickets and Learn Meeting Place Information
Advance purchase is required for all hunts—we do not accept cash “at the door.” To purchase tickets online, click on the Sign up now link following the hunt listing above. To purchase tickets by phone, call us toll-free at 877-9-GO HUNT (877-946-4868), extension 22. You will receive meeting place information at the end of the transaction. You can also get more extensive meeting place info on the Schedule page: After each hunt description, look for a Meeting place information link, which tells you where to meet, how to get there, how you’ll get your e-ticket and more.
Questions?
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page first. If you still can’t get no satisfaction, e-mail us. Please note that, though we follow group-visit procedures, we are not affiliated with the museums mentioned above, so if you call them about the hunts, you will most likely reach someone who won’t know about the hunts.
Go Deluxe With a Private Hunt
Get up, get out, get on the move and discover how playing a game brings people together and forges bonds in surprising ways. To learn more, visit the Private Hunts page, or speak with our sales team at 877-9-GO HUNT (877-946-4868): director of sales Julie Jacobs (extension 14), or sales managers Janet Christmann (extension 16), Mitchell Olson (extension 17) and Maryann Roberts (extension 21). Or you can fill out our handy e-mail form.
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POP QUIZ: WHAT’S YOUR BOSTON I.Q.?
Our hunts are more a test of teamwork than trivia knowledge, but you’ll discover many fascinating facts and places along the way. To get you revved up for our upcoming adventures, here’s a quick
test of your expertise on odd and unusual Boston facts.
1. Swear to God: During a 1914 campaign rally in front of St. Augustine’s Church in South Boston, a candidate was leading the crowd in the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses...” At that moment he noticed someone reaching into his car and shouted, “Get that sonuvabitch, he’s stealing my coat!” The candidate then quickly resumed, “...as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Two days later he won the election. Who was he?
(a) James Michael Curley (b) Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (c) Calvin Coolidge (d) James “Whitey” Bulger
2. Fit to Print? In 1748, the Boston Post-Boy ran the following advertisement: “A Treatis, Proving (a Posteriori) That Most of the Disorders Incident to the Fair Sex, Are Owing to Flatulencies not Seasonally Vented.” What this ad serious or a satire?
3. Like a Giant Middle Finger: The stately Custom House, which you’ll visit on the Secrets of Old Boston Hunt, is “illegally” tall. Or at least it was, strictly speaking, between 1915 and 1947, when it was Boston’s tallest tower. The city’s height limit was 125 feet, but this spire tops out at 496 feet. How’d the builder get away with it? The Custom House was a federal building and thus was free to ignore local ordinances. Nice. What occupies the tower today?
(a) city government offices (b) mostly law firms (c) time-share condos (d) a hotel (e) Brahmins
4. A Caste of Dozens: The term “Boston Brahmin,” denoting a “harmless, inoffensive, untitled aristocracy,” was apparently coined by the man who published that term and description in an 1860 issue of The Atlantic Monthly. The author elaborated: “Boston Brahmins...with their houses by Bulfinch, their monopoly of Beacon Street, their ancestral portraits and Chinese porcelains, humanitarianism, Unitarian faith in the march of the mind, Yankee shrewdness, and New England exclusiveness.” This gentleman was well suited to define Boston Brahmins, since his accomplished family could be considered members of that caste. His son, for example, was a Supreme Court justice. The elder is responsible for such remarks as “It is very lonely sometimes, trying to play God” and “Old age is 15 years older than I am.” Who is he? (Hint: One requirement for a Brahmin is to always use three names.)
(a) Ralph Waldo Emerson (b) Oliver Wendell Holmes (c) John Quincy Adams (d) George Herman Ruth
5. Sign o’ the Times: Now that we’re racing toward another energy crisis, we might look back to the days of the last one. The legendary CITGO sign in Kenmore Square, erected in 1940, was darkened in 1979, thanks to the energy shortage. How many years passed before it was lit up again? Hint: The answer could be as low as 1 and as high as 5.
Answers
1. (a) He was campaigner for mayor.
2.
A satire, originally published in England but made more naughty in the Boston version.
3. (c)
4. (b)
5. Four years
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HUNT NEWS: HUNTERS HIT FACEBOOK
Watson Adventures on Facebook: Where Hunters Meet and Chat
Become a “fan” of Watson Adventures on Facebook to learn about special discounts and offers, share your favorite hunting experience, offer advice to new hunters, reconnect with people you’ve met on past hunts, ask advice on which one to try next and much more.
1. Click here to view our fan page: If you have a Facebook account, log in using the link at the top of the page. If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can register for one there.
2. Click on “Become a Fan”: The link is on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
3. Tell your friends: Click on the “Share” link on the lower right-hand corner of the page to send a message to your friends and post information about Watson Adventures to your personal profile.
4. Participate in the Watson Adventures Facebook community: You can upload photos you’ve taken at hunts, post your favorite Watson Adventures experiences on the Wall, or start a topic on our discussion board.
5. Enter our contest: Hop on our Facebook discussion board and add your thoughts to the thread: “What was the most interesting thing you discovered on a Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunt?” We’ll feature three responses on our Web site—and if yours is chosen you’ll win free admission for yourself and three friends to a public hunt of your choice! (Museum admission not included where applicable.)
Private Hunts: A Cost-Effective Way to Boost Morale or Enjoy a “Staycation”
Maybe your department or friends don’t have a budget to take everyone to see the Red Sox or to board a booze cruise or go rock climbing in Timbuktu. But you can have an amazing adventure within blocks of your office or home on a Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunt—and still have money left for a post-hunt gathering at a bar or restaurant. Our hunts are a cost-effective way of making your favorite neighborhood, park or museum seem new and exotic. And wise managers know that there’s no more important time to keep up morale and boost teamwork than during times of economic uncertainty.
To find out how we can help you go on a memorable “staycation,” visit the Private Hunts page of WatsonAdventures.com, or speak with our sales team at 877-9-GO HUNT (877-946-4868): director of sales Julie Jacobs (extension 14), or sales managers Mitchell Olson (extension 17), Maryann Roberts (extension 21) or Janet Christmann (extension 16). Or you can fill out our handy e-mail form. Don’t miss out on adventures in your own city.
A Tip of the Hat to Our Newest Clients
We send a special word of thanks to the companies and other groups who recently did their first team-building event with us, including...
Education: Catholic University of America, M.I.T., The National Society of College Scholars
Event Planners: PRA New York, RBY Event Planning
Financial: Adams Street Partners, BlackRock, Brinster & Bergman, Group M, TSG Consumer Partners
Insurance: Continental Corp., Nationwide Mutual, XL Insurance
Legal: Allen & Overy, Davis Shapiro Lewitt & Hayes, Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner
Media: Crave Online, Razorfish, Selecciones Magazine, Threespot Media
Medical: Atlantic Health, C.R. Bard, The Medicines Company, Revera Healthcare Systems, Takeda Pharmaceuticals America
Technology: ASML, IBM Market Intelligence
Travel: Allied Pilots Association
Other Companies: Gel Conference, Lincoln Property Company, Performance Development Group
Charities and Other Not-for-Profit Organizations: Juvenile Justice Initiative Program, Tuesday’s Children
We look forward to providing more amazing adventures for you. See the complete client list
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JOKES: DRIVEN CRAZY
With gas becoming almost as expensive as bottled water, you might consider seeking adventures closer to home this summer. Salem, for instance, will feel like a far-away and strange place on the Haunted Salem Hunt. Or hop on the T and feast on food from around the globe on the Munch Around Cambridge Hunt. If you need more reasons to shun your SUV, consider the experiences of these comedians....
I am the worst driver. Let’s just say I always wear clean underwear. I should drive a hearse and cut out the middle man. —Wendy Liebman
There’s a new device to wake sleepy drivers. The old device was the car crash. —Craig Kilborn
I remember learning to drive on my dad’s lap. Did you guys ever do that? He’d work the brakes. I’d work the wheel. Then I went to take the driver’s test and sat on the examiner’s lap. I failed the exam. But he still writes to me. That’s the really nice part. —Garry Shandling
I just got back from a pleasure trip. I drove my mother-in-law to the airport. —Henny Youngman
One of the first things they teach you in driver’s ed is where to put your hands on the steering wheel—at ten o’clock and two o’clock. I put mine at 9:45 and 2:17. Gives me an extra half hour to get where I’m going. —George Carlin
Remember, folks: Traffic lights timed for 35 miles per hour are also timed for 70 miles per hour. —Jim Samuels
When I’m driving I see a sign that says, “Caution: Small Children Playing.” I slow down, and then it occurs to me: I’m not afraid of small children. —Jonathan Katz
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WEB ADVENTURES: THE MONTY HALL PROBLEM
Is the car behind Door No. 1, Door No. 2 or Door No. 3? Many a contestant wrestled with this dilemma on the old game show Let’s Make a Deal. But philosophers and logicians have wrestled over what happened after the contestant picked, say, Door 1. Host Monty Hall would then open one of the other two doors—let’s say Door 3—and reveal a goat. Now, would the contestant like to change to Door 2 or stick with Door 1?
You’d probably think that the odds of making the right decision are 50-50. And you’d be wrong. Unless you’re psychic or Monty Hall’s cousin, you should always switch to the other door, because the odds are 2 in 3 (66%) in your favor that you’ll win the car if you do. Don’t believe it? Try for yourself at these amusing Web sites that let you play the game and test the odds:
math.ucsd.edu/~crypto/Monty/monty.html
people.hofstra.edu/Steven_R_Costenoble/MontyHall/MontyHallSim.html
www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/science/08monty.html
Why should this be so? As New York Times columnist John Tierney elegantly explains, “When you stick with Door 1, you’ll win only if your original choice was correct, which happens only 1 in 3 times on average. If you switch, you’ll win whenever your original choice was wrong, which happens 2 out of 3 times.” (See “And Behind Door No. 1, a Fatal Flaw.”)
Or if you are a goatherd with no use for a Ferrari, pick the door Monty just showed you. Then you’ll have the last laugh when no one can afford gas or rice.
If that’s all a bit too cerebral for you, try this: a heavy metal dog.
See a collection of our favorite sites: The Best of Web Adventures. Scroll down for the weirder stuff.
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FAQ: WHERE’S MY CULTURE VULTURE?
So you signed up to receive newsletter in your e-mailbox, or you paid for admission to a hunt, but you haven’t received any e-mails from us. What gives? We recently switched e-mail services and perhaps you missed a message asking you to confirm your subscription or thought it was spam. In which case, you could just click on the Subscribe button below to re-subscribe. Or perhaps you are having problems with an overzealous spam filter. Find out what you can do by visiting the Frequently Asked Questions page, in the Receiving E-Mails from Us section.
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GET THE CULTURE VULTURE IN YOUR MAILBOX
Just type in your e-mail address below to have our newsletter and the latest hunt schedule sent to you every three months. On the next page you’ll see, be sure to check off “Boston Area”:
We DO NOT share your address with any other companies, especially purveyors of spam.
That’s all, folks. See you at the hunt!
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©2008 Watson Adventures LLC. All rights reserved. Including the right to wish that the whole presidential election process could be condensed into one season of ‘American Idol.’ Plus we think picking David Archuleta as a running mate will really help McCain pull in the youth vote.
