University of Chicago scavenger hunt puts students in pursuit of Barack Obama's haircut

CHICAGO — Dozens of students from the University of Chicago returned Sunday from a four-day multistate trek dubbed the world’s largest scavenger hunt after trying to find Barack Obama’s haircut and a car horn that plays ‘‘La Cucaracha,’’ among other things.

The list of 269 items includes having ‘‘a Nobel Prize winner or ’Weird Al’ Yankovic witness your organ donor registration’’ and trying to get ‘‘Obama’s haircut at Obama’s barbershop.’’ Teams get points for the items they bring back to campus, tasks they complete or questions they answer correctly. The scavenger hunt, in its 22nd year, includes a road trip as far as 1,000 miles from Chicago.

‘‘This allows us to take another kind of brain power and put it into frivolous, trivial but completely enjoyable tasks,’’ said senior David Pisano, 21.

Winners had not been posted as of late Sunday for this year’s challenges, which included having ‘‘a potato break the sound barrier’’ and finding ‘‘a disgruntled beekeeper.’’

Some participants headed to Las Vegas in search of celebrities to photograph, while others contemplated weaving a basket underwater, building a working light bulb from scratch, or locating or constructing a bust of Abraham Lincoln made out of pennies.

In 2000, the list called for a live elephant, which students were able to procure for judging.