What is GISH? Well, I am glad you asked. When I first joined GISH it was still known as ‘The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen’ or GISHWHES and no I don’t know how to pronounce that either. However, over time it has simply become GISH or ‘The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt’.
GISH was created by Supernatural star Misha Collins in 2010, and has since grown into the largest media scavenger hunt ever. GISH has broken many Guinness World Records including: ‘Most Pledges for a Campaign/to Complete a Random Act of Kindness (2012) — 93,376 pledges’ and ‘Largest Chain of Safety Pins (2013) — 3,583 feet/1,802 meters long’. Taking place every August, thousands of people from all over the world spend one week completing various items of the hunt from helping others to creating amazing works of art.
I love scavenger hunts and Supernatural so when my friend asked me if I wanted to join I said “sure, why not?”. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, I was once as innocent as you. I assumed this would be a normal scavenger hunt, just on a bigger scale. Oh, how naïve I was. Nothing prepared me for the unreasonable pain and suffering I was about to experience every August due to this strange, but addicting hunt. I have built an office on a paddle board in the middle of a lake, begged friends and family for random objects, lost unknown amounts of sleep, made amazing friends, stepped out of my shell, improved my artistic skills, asked strangers for the most random things, found myself evacuating during a fire alarm drill wearing fruit in a braided basket, helped feed and house many people, made others feel more human, learned about amazing organizations, and so much more.
If you want to find yourself hoarding odd objects such as toilet paper cardboard, glitter, your pet’s hair, spices (especially salt and pepper), fruits and vegetables, storm trooper costumes, glue, and much more. GISH is for you.
If you want to find yourself spending a week without sleep, burning your fingers on a hot glue guns, having your family and friends look at you like your crazy, gaining concerned looks from strangers, experiencing sugar rushes from eating any leftover candy from items, and saying ‘Damnit Misha’ untold amounts of times. GISH is for you.
If you want to find yourself wearing odd objects (think dresses made of food left scraps), being as creative as possible, solving complicated puzzles, meeting the most awesome group of people, joining an international group of people to improve this world, and doing things you couldn’t possibly imagine. GISH is for you.
It is a lifestyle, not just a scavenger hunt and I highly suggest you give it a chance if you have not already. There is always something for everyone.
