We Made Uranium!: And Other True Stories from the University of Chicago's Extraordinary Scavenger Hunt

by Leila Sales (Editor)

Item #176: A fire drill. No, not an exercise in which occupants of a building practice leaving the building safely. A drill which safely emits a bit of fire, the approximate shape and size of a drill bit.
 
Item #74: Enter a lecture class in street clothes. Receive loud phone call. Shout “I NEED TO GO, THE CITY NEEDS ME!” Remove street clothes to reveal superhero apparel. Run out for the good of the land.
 
Item #293: Hypnotizing a chicken seems easy, but if the Wikipedia article on the practice is to be believed, debate on the optimal method is heated. Do some trials on a real chicken and submit a report . . . for science of course.
 
Item #234: A walking, working, people-powered but preferably wind-powered Strandbeest.
 
Item #188: Fattest cat. Points per pound.
 
The University of Chicago’s annual Scavenger Hunt (or “Scav”) is one of the most storied college traditions in America. Every year, teams of hundreds of competitors scramble over four days to complete roughly 350 challenges. The tasks range from moments of silliness to 1,000-mile road trips, and they call on participants to fully embrace the absurd. For students it is a rite of passage, and for the surrounding community it is a chance to glimpse the lighter side of a notoriously serious university.

We Made Uranium! shares the stories behind Scav, told by participants and judges from the hunt’s more than thirty-year history. The twenty-three essays range from the shockingly successful (a genuine, if minuscule, nuclear reaction created in a dorm room) to the endearing failures (it’s hard to build a carwash for a train), and all the chicken hypnotisms and permanent tattoos in between. Taken together, they show how a scavenger hunt once meant for blowing off steam before finals has grown into one of the most outrageous annual traditions at any university. The tales told here are absurd, uplifting, hilarious, and thought-provoking—and they are all one hundred percent true.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor

248 pages, Paperback

Published April 22, 2019

About the author

Leila Sales was born in 1984 and grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in psychology in 2006. Now she lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works in the mostly glamorous world of children's book publishing. Leila spends most of her time thinking about sleeping, kittens, dance parties, and stories that she wants to write.


***Please note that I do not respond to messages sent to me via Goodreads mail. I love hearing from readers, but would ask you to email me at leila@leilasales.com, or tweet at me @LeilaSalesBooks. Thank you!

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about nerds doing nerd things read by a nerd

[Shannon Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an exceptional tour of the history of a really unique event at the University of Chicago the annual Scavenger Hunt.

I can’t write an unbiased review but my very biased review is that this is an excellent book that just scratches the surface of the craziness of the Scav Hunt.

I’m biased because I participated in the hunt twice. And was then a Judge. I haven’t been back for the latrr incarnations but at least one of my list items is in this book. And many other traditions I helped start are referred to. I was one of the judges in the early 1990’s who made the road trip (sending Scavies to Canada and back in my year) and we started some of the traditions of live events at the judgement day.

For those who haven’t yet read this book or didn’t attend the school and participate in the Scav hunt yourself the UChicago Scav hunt list has 100’s of items and the hunt takes place over 4 days with teams that can sometimes number into the hundreds. And it is a unique and crazy list that only the uchicago could come up with

(and yes in the years after I was a judge one team did into make Uranium)

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious! The students and alumni of the staid University of Chicago have been doing a chaotic multi-day scavenger hunt every May since 1987. This isn’t your typical scavenger hunt. The challenges include creating and building stuff, performance art, road trips, and more, all accompanied by liberal amounts of alcohol, sleepless nights, and skipping classes. Some 300+ nerd challenges are presented (different every year), each bearing a certain number of points. The team with the most points wins, but winning isn’t the point. “The point of the Scav is do to cool shit.”

Challenges have included making working models of all Homer Simpson’s inventions; making a nuclear reactor (hence the title of the book. A couple physics majors made uranium – in a dorm room); finding a willing nun in full habit to participate in a foot race (easy to find U of C alums who had become nuns and were willing to run than finding a full habit); bringing in a 25-foot boat with proof of ownership (one team actually hauled in such a boat, while another glued 25 tiny Barbie feet to the bottom of a toy boat); and making “a balloon protein, one that both represents your chosen protein’s tertiary/quaternary structure and actively demonstrates its native function. Like a real protein, your structure should be sufficiently complex and, most importantly, do something cool.”

I really liked that the U of C students are proud of being highly conceptual and deeply impractical. A school T-shirt reads “That’s all well and good in practice…but how does it work in theory?” LOL!

[Leah Rachel von Essen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid book that brings together the outrageous and bizarre tradition of Scav Hunt. It hits all the big points, from the Scavvenwedding to the reactor to Graceland Too to trainwashing to Scavair. I also enjoyed additions I didn't know of, from the story of how "two men enter, one man leaves!" became part of the competition to the history of the coleslaw item, and stories that unlike the more famous legends, I had never heard—such as the Survivor item.

I won't comment on my more personal issues with the collection. I will say though that I wish this book was longer. It dealt very, very well with the moments of inspiration and chaos that come with Scav, including the incredible essay about a Scav proposal. It also tells darker stories, from one person's account of emotional abuse that was tied to their Scav experience to the way an item became a lifeline for a head judge having panic attacks.

But I felt there was a huge gap here, considering that the book appeared to be meant to appeal to people who didn't yet know Scav. Which is...why bother doing it? There are a few essays that I think actually touch on the feeling of why we choose to do it in the first place—these include the editor's own essay, and the handcuffs essay. I feel like the collection could have benefited from more stories that focused slightly less on the outrageous or mistakes or big wins and more on the small moments of creative triumph, belonging, and wonder that Scav tends to bring.

[Marshaferz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun for those with knowledge of UChicago's Scav Hunt and those just learning. These stories really give the breadth of experiences, along with some really fun lists. I enjoyed this and both of my kids are loving it too!

[ZC · Rating 5 out of 5]

hilariously true stories from the experience of scavvies st UofC.

[Maura Cuneo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of fun stories that makes me simultaneously miss GISH (a similarly insane hunt inspired by Scav) and wish I applied to the University of Chicago lol

[Beth Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun, and did exactly what it said on the label. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed participating, but I loved reading about it.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I wrote one of the essays and am friends with the editor and several other writers.

You will enjoy this book, but the reason why depends on how well you know Scav.

For those who haven't heard the word "Scav" used in a sentence before, this is a collection of some of the weirdest things college kids have ever done. I don't care what drugs you tried or how crazy your parties were. You don't know anyone who:
-Got chased off of Elvis' gravesite for leaving a banana, peanut butter and hog jowl sandwich;
-Voluntarily put on a blindfold and got in a van in Chicago and unexpectedly found themselves a few hours later in Las Vegas wearing formal eveningwear and swimsuits;
-Gotten handcuffed to a virtual stranger for four days and walked away with a new (real, permanent) tattoo that read "Sorry about the syphilis, can we still be cousins?";
These are the stories of how and (the closest possible answer to) why these things happened.

If you are familiar with Scav but haven't participated, this is a thoroughly entertaining explainer as to what the fuss was about, and why some of your University of Chicago friends seem to keep disappearing to their alma mater every Mothers' Day weekend for over a decade after they graduated.

For Scavvies, this is a great oral history of the legends of Scav. Want to know the full story behind the nuclear reactor? Check. Both the origin and downfall of the Friday Scav party? Check. What it was like being the groom at the Scav Wedding? Check. A list of all the references to the Simpsons over the years? ...well, that's probably impossible, but this has ten of the most entertaining. Pick it up if only to find out what the heck all those references to coleslaw and Mike Royko were about.

[Naseem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really biased because I wrote one of the pieces in here, but this book is a wonderful addition to anyone who is familiar with Scav—or who wants to be.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining collegiate antics, plus the added perk of U of Chicago alumnus status