On the scavenger hunts, most of the questions don’t work out of context: they’re designed so that you can answer them only when you are standing in the correct spot. And they aren’t Google-able: we don’t want you sitting on a bench with your smartphone.
Example from a museum hunt
This question is from the Met Madness Scavenger Hunt at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art:
In the Medieval Treasury, find the stained-glass saint who looks like he can’t get no satisfaction. (You might find his name appropriate.) Who most likely sought his help? Answer: Resembling Mick Jagger, St. Roch is the patron saint of plague sufferers, as revealed by the label near the window.
Example from a neighborhood hunt
We also offer outdoor hunts in historic and fascinating places. Here’s a question from the Downtown Movie Locations Scavenger Hunt in Los Angeles:
Bradbury Building, Broadway & 3rd: This is one of L.A.’s architectural landmarks. Architect George Wyman was influenced by an 1887 sci-fi novel. Go inside to see the dramatic lobby, which has inspired dramatic scenes. In The Artist, Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo flirt on the ornate stairs. In Blade Runner, it poses as the toymaker Sebastian’s waterlogged home, where Harrison Ford has his final showdown with Rutger Hauer. Near the “birdcage” elevators, find something that would escape from such a cage. What city did it come from? Answer: The mailbox, made in Rochester, features an eagle.
Didn’t get the answers to those questions? Of course you didn’t! We write the questions so you can get the answer only when you’re standing in the right spot. (We’ve also left out some of the clues that help you get to the right gallery.) Each question is designed to have a distinct payoff: you will see something cool, learn an intriguing or bizarre fact, or have a good laugh.