Leap Year leap!

Every four years, we add a day at the end of February to compensate for the fact that it takes slightly longer than 365 days for the earth to circle the sun.

But since this day throws the calendar off kilter, legend has it that this has left the door for other traditions to be upturned.

In and old Irish tradition, Leap Day is the one day per year when women could propose to their beaus rather than the other way around. As the story goes, St. Bridget struck this deal with St. Patrick in order to right that bit of unfairness.

If a man decided to deny a proposal, he had to give the woman a gift such as a kiss or a new dress. In a related European tradition, he was supposed to give the woman new pairs of gloves, perhaps to cover up the fact that she wouldn’t be wearing his wedding ring.

In Greece, it’s considered unlucky to marry on any day during a Leap Year. Recent polls say that one in five Greek couples will actually delay marriage in order to avoid marrying during a Leap Year!

Other Leap Year traditions relate to agriculture. In Scotland, there’s a saying that “Leap Year never was a good sheep year,” meaning that during a Leap Year there’s often trouble with sheep livestock.   Also, crops are supposedly more likely to grow have trouble, because by adding a day to the calendar the farmers have gotten out of synch with the earth.

But for people born on Leap Day, called “leaplings,” today’s their special chance to actually celebrate their birthdays on their actual birth date.  Four years’ worth of partying all packed into one day?  Sounds like a good time to us!

We hope you make the most of this bonus day!  Do you have any traditions or special plans?  Tweet them to us at @outoftheboxhunt!  And don’t forget to follow us — we tweet fun facts, riddles, games and info about our scavenger hunts!

Happy Hunting!
Out of the Box Events
Scavenger Hunts That Build Better Teams
Call us TODAY to book your private scavenger hunt: (323) 799-1374
Or register for our next Los Angeles public scavenger hunt HERE!

George Washington Carver in his lab

February is Black History Month! We wanted to share with you some of our favorite quotes by African Americans who have dared to think “out of the box.”  Each quote is followed by some information about the figure’s contributions to American arts, science, spots and society.

We hope you enjoy and feel the inspiration flowing!

“Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes, poet, social activist, novelist and columnist. He is best known for his contributions as a jazz poetry innovator and for being part of the Harlem Renaissance.

“When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” – George Washington Carver, scientist, botanist, educator and inventor. He devoted his life to researching crops that would aid both the production and nutrition of farm families. He developed and promoted about 100 products from peanuts, including plastics, gasoline and nitroglycerin.

“If my mind can conceive it; and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it.” – Muhammad Ali, professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist. He’s the only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion.

“Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.” – James Baldwin, novelist, essayist, playwright, poet and social critic.

“In knowing how to overcome little things, a centimeter at a time, gradually when big things come, you are prepared.” — Katherine Dunham, dancer, choreographer and company director who became an author, educator and political activist. She was an innovator in African American modern dance.

“A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive.” – Pearl Bailey, Tony- and Emmy-winning actress and singer.

“After one has discovered what he is made for, he should surrender all of the power in his being to the achievement of this.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., clergyman, activist and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through non-violence.

“If you don’t understand yourself you don’t understand anybody else.” — Nikki Giovanni, poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator. She is currently a professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Dream big,
Out of the Box Events
Scavenger Hunts That Build Better Teams
Call us TODAY to book your private scavenger hunt: (323) 799-1374
Or register for our next Los Angeles public scavenger hunt HERE!

The Valentine’s Day shopping list can get a little predictable: Every year seems to involve a dozen red roses, a box of chocolates and a candlelit dinner. While these standbys can be romantic and loving, sometimes looking beyond the greeting-card clichés can leave a greater impression.

On Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, Out of the Box Events brings a different kind of romantic pursuit to the streets of Venice with a scavenger hunt that will have couples fanning across the beach community in search of prizes…

Click to View PDF

With love,
Out of the Box Events
Scavenger Hunts That Build Better Teams
Call us TODAY to book your private scavenger hunt: (323) 799-1374
Or register for our next Los Angeles public scavenger hunt HERE!

yin yang symbol

We’ve seen the symbol on T-shirts and on bumper stickers, but who knows the history behind the Yin Yang?

This week for our Venice Valentine’s Hunt, teams of two will be riding their bikes around Venice Beach in search of the answers to clues. As we send these dynamic duos off on their adventure, we’d like to take a deeper look at this other duo and find out what it really means.

The yin yang is made up of two forces from nature. Yin is associated with nighttime, coolness, water, femininity, and mystery. Yang is associated with daytime, heat, fire, masculinity, and forthrightness. Neither yin nor yang is “better” than the other. Night and day cannot exist without the other; neither can heat and cold, femininity and masculinity. The two are interdependent and equal.

The yin yang represents two seemingly opposite forces — the yin, symbolized by black, and the yang, symbolized by white — that come together to create a complimentary whole. The two halves combined make one full circle. At the heart of black yin is a circle of white yang, and at the heart of yang is a circle of black yin. This represents how integral the forces are. They are not in opposition; they are part of each other.

We bet you’ll see this symbol when you’re riding around Venice this weekend! Keep your eyes peeled as you pass souvenir shops. Next time you see the yin yang, you’ll know just what it means.

Happy Hunting!
Out of the Box Events
Scavenger Hunts That Build Better Teams
Call us TODAY to book your private scavenger hunt: (323) 799-1374
Or register for our next Los Angeles public scavenger hunt HERE!

Are you our funny Valentine?

The Monotones wrote “The Book of Love” in 1957. Lead singer Charles Patrick heard a Pepsodent toothpaste commercial with the line “wonder where the yellow went.” From there he got the idea for the line, “I wonder, wonder, wonder who, who wrote the book of love.”

Cupid is the son of Venus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

St. Valentine’s Day became an official holiday in 1537 when England’s King Henry VIII declared it for the first time. Today, teachers receive the most Valentine’s cards.

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentines. They would wear this name pinned on their sleeves for one week. This is how the phrase “wearing your heart on your sleeve” came to be.

Valentine candy “conversation hearts” have a shelf life of five years.

There are two U.S. cities named for Valentine: Valentine, Nebraska and Valentine, Texas.

On February 14th, Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone in 1876, the UPS (United Parcel Service) was formed in 1919, Aretha Franklin recorded “Respect” in 1967, and Richard Nixon installed a secret taping system in the White House in 1971.

Luv,
Out of the Box Events
Scavenger Hunts That Build Better Teams
Call us TODAY to book your private scavenger hunt: (323) 799-1374
Or register for our next Los Angeles public scavenger hunt HERE!

Venice didn’t invent the bike, but let’s say the city promotes the cause on a daily basis, judging by
the cycles on the boardwalk.
Nor did Venice invent romance, but judging by the number of canoodlers who regularly flock to the
beach, the city has something of a lock on love.
And when spokes and sweethearts meet? It must be the weekend before Valentine’s Day, and Out
of the Box must be in the mix. The scavenger hunt organizers are at it again, and the Hearts
Holiday dash they’ve got cooked up involves three things: twosomes, cycles, and a certain
arch-blessed oceanside burg…

Click to View PDF

With love!
Out of the Box Events
Scavenger Hunts That Build Better Teams
Call us TODAY to book your private scavenger hunt: (323) 799-1374
Or register for our next Los Angeles public scavenger hunt HERE!

Ohhhh yeahhhh

Special: Music Month Blog!

Beat. Beat. Beat. Beat. We all hear rhythm. We feel it in our bodies; we feel it vibrate through the floor. It’s one reason rock music is so popular. There’s something exciting about responding to the same sound, to deciding as a group that we are going to move at a unified tempo. Beat. Beat. Beat.

It brings us together.

Have you ever watched a pair of drummers play the bongos? Often they will start playing a simple pattern of sounds. Once the pattern is established, they often start adding flourishes, enhancing the original pattern with their own desired sounds. Within an agreed-upon framework, there’s room to freestyle.

By remaining together, performers get a chance to break out and add their own flavor. When musicians are enjoying playing together, they get in the same groove. They feel the space between the beats and the potential for music — or silence — that can communicate their artistic vision. They create songs together.

Within structure, there can be freedom. Within set boundaries, we’re brought together. By agreeing upon a set of guidelines, whether it’s a song tempo or the rules of an Out of the Box Events scavenger hunt, we know how to succeed and make the task we’re completing on into a thing of beauty. T

ake some time to appreciate the structure you’ve built with your family, friends and co-workers. Notice how you live up to expectations with your own personal flair. Glory in the space between the beats. Groove together!

Goovily yours,
Out of the Box Events
Scavenger Hunts That Build Better Teams
Call us TODAY to book your private scavenger hunt: (323) 799-1374
Or register for our next Los Angeles public scavenger hunt HERE!