Jeff Bezos Kicked Your Ass—And Other Scavenger Hunt Records

Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunt Intrepid

Highlights from Watson Adventures’ First 17 Years

Longest escalator ride. Most keys removed from a keyring by a parrot. World’s wealthiest cat.

The world is full of weird, hilarious records—humans, and apparently some other animals, are competitive by nature. We like our bragging rights. And here at Watson Adventures, where we create scavenger hunts and other games for a living, we’re no different. Read on for some of the highlights from our Book of Records, compiled over 17 years of adventure.

First scavenger hunt: Met Madness, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in 1993

Total hunters since 1998: About 400,000

Number of distinct scavenger hunts created: Approximately 700

Number of states where we’ve staged scavenger hunts: 32

Number of corporate clients who appear in the top 100 on the Fortune 500: 84 (We’re coming for you, Warren Buffett.)

Most exotic hunt locations: Kauai, Hawaii and San Juan, Puerto Rico

Smallest scavenger hunt: Two, for a marriage proposal

Largest scavenger hunts: We ran a hunt for 500 Columbia University students in 2005, and a citywide hunt for 400 students of New York University in 2006.

Highest score by a team: Back in 1994, when the two-hour Met Madness Scavenger Hunt had 60 questions, a team captained by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, racked up a perfect score.

Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunt Museums

Best celebrity encounters during hunts: A team of kids asked a stranger to take a photo of them to complete a photo challenge, and it turned out to be Christian Slater. Back when we gave teams Polaroid cameras, one team took a photo with Kate Hudson during a Secrets of Greenwich Village Scavenger Hunt. Neil Patrick Harris was on a private hunt, Adam Yauch aka MCA of the Beastie Boys was on the Secrets of Central Park Scavenger Hunt, Zachary Levi was on the Murder at LACMA Scavenger Hunt in Los Angeles, and BBC talk show host Jonathan Ross has participated in several hunts with his family, including a recent Hamilton: The Scavenger Hunt.

Famous former Hunt Hosts: TV weight-loss guru Anna Kaiser, NPR Ask Me Another host Ophira Eisenberg, Survivor survivor Mitchell Olson

Weirdest question from a hunter: Someone asked if he could go naked to the Naked at the Art Museum Hunt.

Have Some Record-Setting Fun of Your Own

For public scavenger hunts in seven cities around the country, visit the Public Hunt schedule. To ask us about arranging a private scavenger hunt hunt for your group, contact us online or at 877-946-4868, extension 11.

And while you’re at it, check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@watsonhunts)!