I've been wondering about why people do this sort of thing, so thanks for answering that.
I found it curious that Startupbus, which I believe is going on right now, seems to never have had much traction on HN, and when it did, it appeared to be astroturf. It seems like an unforgettable and intense experience, but combining a hackathon with cabin fever and gross bathrooms just doesn't seem like a lot of fun.
I was also on the StartupBus last year and it was the best hackathon I have ever done. I did not take my first nap until 52 hours into it. Had a blast, met a lot of great people, and gained a lot of press http://kennedysgarage.com/projects/lemonade-stand
In addition to building something cool and credible, you got to show that you could handle a lot of challenges (little to no internet connectivity, distractions, etc).
However, in our case we weren't allowed to use the bathroom on the bus.
I found it curious that Startupbus, which I believe is going on right now, seems to never have had much traction on HN, and when it did, it appeared to be astroturf. It seems like an unforgettable and intense experience, but combining a hackathon with cabin fever and gross bathrooms just doesn't seem like a lot of fun.