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Ele Thompson (farthest left) was asked to bury herself and three of her friends for GISHWHES. Photo courtesy of Ele Thompson.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s not called the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen (GISHWHES) for nothing.<\/p>\n After all, GISHWHES got into the Guinness Book of World Records twice in 2012: one for the world\u2019s largest scavenger hunt and the other for the most pledges ever dedicated to a Random Act of Kindness. What does that look like, exactly? That is about 14,000 scavenger hunt participants from 69 countries and about 93,000 pledges in 94 countries.<\/p>\n And why stop at two records when you can add two more? In 2013, GISHWHES got a few more offbeat records under its belt, including the world\u2019s longest chain of safety pins (over 2km long) and the most hugs worldwide in a week (108,121 embraces for the win).<\/p>\n These strange characteristics of GISHWHES are precisely the reason that Long Beach local Ele Thompson decided to partake in the massive hunt that spanned seven days, from August 2 through 9.<\/p>\n \u201cI was kind of doubting whether I would participate or not, since a lot of the items on the list are a little out of the ordinary,\u201d Thompson said, \u201cbut I decided to get over my fears and just do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson\u2019s team of 15 members, dubbed Men of Letters, are people from around the world whom have never met one another. With four ladies in the Netherlands, one woman in Orange County, another in Utah, and couples in Alabama, Illinois, and Iowa, Thompson and crew would communicate via Facebook, uploading videos and photos to let each other know what items they\u2019ve completed and how they went about doing it.<\/p>\n Or, in at the very least, be put into the GISHWHES Hall of Fame, home of a gorgeous time-lapse video where a just-married couple stands in front of a cathedral for 20 minutes without moving<\/a> and where you can find a beautiful church choir do a rendition of Willow Smith\u2019s classic \u201cWhip My Hair.\u201d<\/a> \u201cI think we’ve done really well even though this has been our first year together and I’m hoping we’ll get some of our submissions in the GISHWHES hall of fame even if we don’t win the grand prize. It would be really nice to go to Croatia but I’ve had an amazing experience regardless of whether I win anything or not,” she said.<\/p>\n For Thompson\u2014who had the option to create her own team but opted to be randomly assigned team members\u2014the physical distance helped harness an emotional closeness with her teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s funny because even though I’ve never met them before, I feel a closeness to them and everyone has been really supportive giving feedback, suggestions, and positive comments on the stuff we’ve been creating,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In the coming weeks, Collins and team will select this year\u2019s winners.<\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Screen_Shot_2014-08-28_at_1.52.05_PM.png\")
The items on the list are not for the shy or cold-hearted, since almost all of the challenges involve heavy human interaction, vulnerability, and something altruistic in nature. We\u2019re talking visiting an orphanage, a children\u2019s hospital or a juvenile detention center dressed as Cookie Monster and handing out cookies. Or, finding a neighbor you’ve never met and offering to sweep their patio, mow their lawn or help them with some other task they have to do. And some are just downright strange, such as one of the challenges Thompson had to complete, which involved putting her cat Rufus on a Game of Thrones<\/em>-style throne …of kale [pictured left].<\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Screen_Shot_2014-08-28_at_1.50.21_PM.png\")
Whether it was giving a Starbucks barista the most ridiculous name possible\u2014in Thompson\u2019s case, an ode to (once again) Game of Thrones so long it wrapped around the cup<\/a>\u2014or assemble a puzzle with gloves<\/a>, or serve up hot pasta with jam [pictured right], Men of Letters is hoping that they\u2019ll score the grand prize to visit Croatia with GISHWHES founder Misha Collins (star of Supernatural<\/em>).<\/p>\n
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