Fed up with winter, Bob Mina created Snowmelt Derby, a game where his Facebook friends try to guess when the snow will finally melt in his West Chester backyard, writes Sophia Schmidt for WHYY.
The inaugural game was over a decade ago, and every winter since, dozens of people have tracked the snow melting in Mina’s backyard. The winner earns eternal bragging rights and a batch of homemade cookies.
“It’s mindless,” said Mina. “It’s pointless. It involves no skills. It’s just fun. And by the time it’s over, we’re almost to spring. It’s the ultimate timekiller.”
This season, more than 100 players, including competitors from Australia, England, and Canada, are eagerly watching to see if the warmer weather will melt the last several inches of snow in his backyard.
The rules of the game are simple: after a snowfall, Mina posts about it on Facebook and his friends give him the date and time they believe all of it will disappear. He then regularly posts images as updates.
The winner is the person who guesses closest to the actual time without going over.
Read more about Snowmelt Derby and how people are trying to stay sane as the snow sticks around in WHYY.
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Giant piles of snow usually stick around for months, so why not guess when they will officially be gone?
