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Flash Mob Event, Offical Souvenir, and one in mostly every state/country that isn't third world.


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http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=f1085c65-4ac9-40ef-a77e-5209df2c7bb1

 

I may be waaay out there. But I just found out about the flash mob events. Basically you go, do some crazy stupid thing for 15 minutes in public (city) then go home. It sounds like mega-fun.

 

It has the best of everything, you get to act stupid, you get to be in a huge crowd, and you get to be in the best setting in the world. Big cities!

 

Anyway, It's totally worth the 40 minute drive to the closest one (and 40 mins back) just for the insane amount of fun I'll get. Now all I need is to find a costume...

Edited by Coldgears
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I somehow doubt Groundspeak is allowing 180 some flash mob events to be hosted on there website...THEN subsequently promoted them with an official geocaching souvenir if you log them within two weeks if they ever considered them remotely illegal.

 

Something tells me that just as reviewers don't inspect the location of physical caches, they also don't inspect the location of events.

 

I could be wrong.

 

Generally, the onus is on the person listing the event.

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The ones I have been to are quite a bit more tame than you are making it sound.

 

We all met up in a parking lot, ate some candy, signed a log, chatted a bit, took a picture, blew some bubbles, traded trackables and dispersed.

All in 15 minutes.

 

They are fun events to go to, but given the short duration I'm not going to drive 50+ miles just to get to one. One little traffic hiccup and you miss the whole thing.

However, often a group will go caching together nearby afterwards, and that can be fun.

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The ones I have been to are quite a bit more tame than you are making it sound.

 

We all met up in a parking lot, ate some candy, signed a log, chatted a bit, took a picture, blew some bubbles, traded trackables and dispersed.

All in 15 minutes.

 

They are fun events to go to, but given the short duration I'm not going to drive 50+ miles just to get to one. One little traffic hiccup and you miss the whole thing.

However, often a group will go caching together nearby afterwards, and that can be fun.

20 miles is how far it is from me? It usually taked about 40 minutes to get their, do you suggest I leave early.

 

I'm surprised no-one else is doing this... Do none of you care about official Groundspeak souvenir's?

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The ones I have been to are quite a bit more tame than you are making it sound.

 

We all met up in a parking lot, ate some candy, signed a log, chatted a bit, took a picture, blew some bubbles, traded trackables and dispersed.

All in 15 minutes.

 

They are fun events to go to, but given the short duration I'm not going to drive 50+ miles just to get to one. One little traffic hiccup and you miss the whole thing.

However, often a group will go caching together nearby afterwards, and that can be fun.

20 miles is how far it is from me? It usually taked about 40 minutes to get their, do you suggest I leave early.

 

I'm surprised no-one else is doing this... Do none of you care about official Groundspeak souvenir's?

 

Not enough to walk across the street for one. Let alone drive 20 miles. And as I look the nearest one to me seems to be about 100 miles.

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It isn't the event that is illegal but what happens at the event that becomes illegal. Let's see. Flash mobs... Kids or younger people gathering in massive amounts for fun with no adult supervision. What could possibly go wrong?

 

:blink:

 

I think you're confusing the "outside world" with our "geocaching world".

 

They've been having geocacher flashmob events for a few years now...don't think the participants have caused much trouble or damage. B)

 

Here are some flashmob listings...itineraries included:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2TKCY

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2RWWX

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2T5QN

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2VPQB

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2W068

Edited by Pup Patrol
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It isn't the event that is illegal but what happens at the event that becomes illegal. Let's see. Flash mobs... Kids or younger people gathering in massive amounts for fun with no adult supervision. What could possibly go wrong?

 

:blink:

 

I think you're confusing the "outside world" with our "geocaching world".

http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=f1085c65-4ac9-40ef-a77e-5209df2c7bb1

^

 

See that link above? Yeah, that has every World Wide Flashmob Event in the world. I put that in the original post... How did somebody miss it!

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http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=f1085c65-4ac9-40ef-a77e-5209df2c7bb1

^

 

See that link above? Yeah, that has every World Wide Flashmob Event in the world. I put that in the original post... How did somebody miss it!

 

I didn't miss the link you posted.

 

I posted links to the Ontario, Canada ones. That's where I live...Ontario, Canada.

 

A listing of all the flashmobs all over the world holds little interest for me.

 

Also, giving a few links to specific flashmob events is faster to read the "fun" activities that are scheduled.

 

But, then again, I'm not the one just finding out about geocaching flashmobs. :rolleyes: Maybe I'm just not as excited about them.

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But, then again, I'm not the one just finding out about geocaching flashmobs. :rolleyes: Maybe I'm just not as excited about them.

I knew about them before, BUT, this is the first one that has a souvenir. When I said, "I just found out" about them, I meant I found out about the series of WorldWide FlashMob events that are getting a souvenir.

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http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=f1085c65-4ac9-40ef-a77e-5209df2c7bb1

 

I may be waaay out there. But I just found out about the flash mob events. Basically you go, do some crazy stupid thing for 15 minutes in public (city) then go home. It sounds like mega-fun.

 

It has the best of everything, you get to act stupid, you get to be in a huge crowd, and you get to be in the best setting in the world. Big cities!

 

Anyway, It's totally worth the 40 minute drive to the closest one (and 40 mins back) just for the insane amount of fun I'll get. Now all I need is to find a costume...

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It isn't the event that is illegal but what happens at the event that becomes illegal. Let's see. Flash mobs... Kids or younger people gathering in massive amounts for fun with no adult supervision. What could possibly go wrong?

 

:blink:

 

I think you're confusing the "outside world" with our "geocaching world".

 

They've been having geocacher flashmob events for a few years now...don't think the participants have caused much trouble or damage. B)

 

Here are some flashmob listings...itineraries included:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2TKCY

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2RWWX

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2T5QN

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2VPQB

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC2W068

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I'm contemplating the one in Princeton. 38 miles by GPS, 52 miles by road. 1:15 driving time (allow extra time.) (Yeah. This is driving in New Jersey...) One problem is getting a Halloween costume. Another is that a bunch of people milling about in Halloween costumes, then meeting for fifteen minutes, doesn't really seem like a flash mob. Like no one is going to notice me, dressed like a dolphin, standing a few hundred feet off?

But, I'll still contemplating it. Maybe we'll see you there, CG.

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My one event I went to was a flash mob. But I need to clarify that. We don't have enough local cachers to constitute a mob first of all. I brought half the mob with me as we also tend to carpool. So it was more like a sparkle gathering versus a flash mob. Culturally here we are 10-15 minute early people. We don't just show up on time to places. We show up early. It's engrained in who we are as a tiny little subculture here. So the event was to start at a designated time but we were all early. So what ended up happening is that prior to the designated time we all kind of got out and were chatting and telling the stories.

 

The person running the event was on time and we signed the log and then we all kind of lingered past the designated end time because we're also a social people here and it was fun meeting and catching up with people. Putting faces to names.

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We went to one held by the Clackamas group (just a few miles from the Original Stash) in 2008. They were surprised to see cachers from 2400+ miles away!

We might make the one in Princeton...

Haha, I hope to see you there!

I'm contemplating the one in Princeton. 38 miles by GPS, 52 miles by road. 1:15 driving time (allow extra time.) (Yeah. This is driving in New Jersey...) One problem is getting a Halloween costume. Another is that a bunch of people milling about in Halloween costumes, then meeting for fifteen minutes, doesn't really seem like a flash mob. Like no one is going to notice me, dressed like a dolphin, standing a few hundred feet off?

But, I'll still contemplating it. Maybe we'll see you there, CG.

You too!

Edited by Coldgears
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I truly enjoy event caches, meeting other local cachers. This sounds like fun. Princeton is a bit of a hike for me, though coincidentally I will be in Princeton Junction on that day. Unfortunately, at that time I will be in the middle of Mercer County Park lake for this event. You all are welcome to stop by there after the flash mob and watch the races. The park is jammed with nice wooded trails with lots of caches. I have been finding them a few at a time following practices there.

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Video from one of the portuguese WWFM VIII in Lisbon:

It might be the epic music, but the flashmob I went to doesn't seem nearly as awesome. All we did was dress up in Halloween costumes, hey, it's better then my other option, the other one which is the same distance in the other directions was to sing row row row your boat for 15 minutes... Bleh. You got the good ones!

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Flash Mob's are stupid, and one was shut down before it happened by a local Police Department last year. They are also ridiculous as Geocaching events, and from what I've seen/heard, rarely do they go off like a "real" Flash Mob. Giving out Souvenirs for attending one would be ridiculous. Did I miss anything? :laughing:

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Went to a flash mob geo-event yesterday. It was basically a micro-event: hang out for a bit meeting other cachers, raffle off a special geo-coin, give coordinates for a few other geocoins hidden the park for some cachers to hunt (I got one), toss around some sports balls, take a group photo, and move on. Not a "true" flash mob I suppose (we didn't hold up signs for 15 minutes or search for caches or dance) but it was amusing. I was glad one was fairly close to me; I stopped for some caches before and after. Silly geo-fun.

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Define "third world."

 

Actual definition?

The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO (which along with its allies represented the First World), or communism and the Soviet Union (which along with its allies represented the Second World). This definition provided a way of broadly categorizing the nations of the Earth into three groups based on social, political, and economic divisions.

 

USA and allies are First World. Soviet Union and allies are Second World. Everyone else is Third World.

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I went to our local one. It was my first event. (although HQ certainly "felt" like an event) I only went because the "theme" was raising money for a local cacher who was crushed by a boulder whilie caching alone. No health insurance, and someone stole his Vespa too!

 

My wife and I came, gave my $20, got akward glances from a lot of old people who all seemed to already know eachother, met two friendly cachers whose user names were familiar, discovered some bugs and left.

Definitely wouldn't have gone if we'd have needed to wear a costume and we probably would have hated being there too much longer :/

 

I think events are nice for some, but the two times we've been around other cachers they were all much older than us (which is fine) and I always get the vibe they don't want us there. Not sure what the deal is. We just standd there and smile. I ask a few people what their caching names are or whatever and they just answer quickly and move on. Don't even ask us the same.

I can't imagine taking more than 15 minutes of that. Hopefully next time will be better, that said, we met a few cool people whose names a I recognized, so it was worth it.

 

The souveneier is neat I suppose. Its hard to say in the short term if they will mean anything to me when I look back on them.

 

EDIt: Sorry for the spelling massacre!

Edited by d+n.s
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I went to our local one. It was my first event. (although HQ certainly "felt" like an event) I only went because the "theme" was raising money for a local cacher who was crushed by a boulder whilie caching alone. No health insurance, and someone stole his Vespa too!

 

My wife and I came, gave my $20, got akward glances from a lot of old people who all seemed to already know eachother, met two friendly cachers whose user names were familiar, discovered some bugs and left.

Definitely wouldn't have gone if we'd have needed to wear a costume and we probably would have hated being there too much longer :/

 

I think events are nice for some, but the two times we've been around other cachers they were all much older than us (which is fine) and I always get the vibe they don't want us there. Not sure what the deal is. We just standd there and smile. I ask a few people what their caching names are or whatever and they just answer quickly and move on. Don't even ask us the same.

I can't imagine taking more than 15 minutes of that. Hopefully next time will be better, that said, we met a few cool people whose names a I recognized, so it was worth it.

 

The souveneier is neat I suppose. Its hard to say in the short term if they will mean anything to me when I look back on them.

 

EDIt: Sorry for the spelling massacre!

That really sucks, I don't think it's the age difference though. I'm one of the youngest geocachers there are, and at both of my events i've had no problem chatting with people nearly 3 - 4 TIMES my age. It wasn't even the people I met via E-mail, my first event I met two groups of people, one from the area who's username I have never saw, and someone from halfway across the country who came here to visit a relative. Both of these people chatted immediately, I didn't even have to try, I sat down to eat pizza... Guess what? They immediately started talking. The second event I went to, I met a geocacher I had talked to via E-mail, and we chatted, then I chatted with someone from NYC who I never knew before, I just walked up and we exchanged geocoins and conversed.

 

What you described is exactly what I was afraid of when going to my first event, so I am lucky that it didn't happen to me.

 

Are you sure the issue wasn't the fact that it was a 15 minute event and people wanted to get what they had to do before they all left? That would explain why they didn't want to talk. You should give events another shot, and go to a real one, where you sit down, eat, and converse, without the feeling of pressure because of time constraints.

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We're going to the "frozen in time" flash mob event by Ozguff, next month? (I think--I'd have to check the calendar)

We think it will be a lot of fun to all converge on an area & bewilder some people for about 15 min.

What we think will be more fun is meeting the other cachers.

We did have a blast. It was hot! But we got to meet a couple other cachers, drop off our TB (which hasn't moved yet, but what're ya gonna do?) & we had a great time bewildering all the shopping people. Worth it.

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