Have you Seen Me?: The Story of Where's Waldo

He once was lost but now he is found.

Here are some little known Waldo facts

 

Waldo Origin Story

Waldo was created by an artist name Martin Hanford. He was trying to write a book that would showcase his artistic talent. He created the character Waldo to help provide a link between each scene in the book. His earlier editors thought his book filled with only crowd scenes would be lacking a them and direction. Basically Waldo was an afterthought. Handford was mostly looking to showcase his talent for creating busy crowd scenes. However early fans of his work were drawn to the fun and unique character and he has evolved and grown for more than 25 years now.

The story of Waldo is simple, a distinctly dressed man wearing a red and white striped beanie and striped clothing begins a world wide journey around the world and other exotic locales. He visits everyday places like the beach, ski slops, the zoo and even The Land of the Waldos. The books invited the readers to find the uniquely dressed Waldo among the crowded scene. At the start of each page is a postcard from Waldo explaining his travels and some hints about the picture.

 

This is what happened when Asia got a hold of Waldo

Waldo's Tool's of the Trade

Waldo is not traveling empty handed. Everywhere that he travels he carries with him 12 special items.

1. Walking Stick
2. Kettle
3. Mallet
4. Cup
5. Backpack
6. Sleeping Bag
7. Binoculars
8. Camera
9. Snorkel
10. Belt
11. Bag
12. Shovel

 

The Where's Waldo Cast of Characters

Waldo Might Be Lost But He is Not Alone

Waldo might have started off his journey alone, but he would not be alone for long. He would later be joined by several new characters. His first female companion would be Wilma but she was soon replaced by her identical twin sister Wenda. Wenda dressed just like Waldo with a striped beanie, and red a white striped shirt and wire framed glasses. He would soon find his nemesis named Odlaw, which you might have noticed is "Waldo" spelled backwards. He wears yellow and black striped clothing and his wire framed glasses have a blue tint to them. Also unlike Waldo Odlaw has a sinister mustache. He is sometimes seen trying to steal Waldo's magical walking stick. Another companion for Waldo in his travels was Woof. Woof is Waldo's dog, he is one of the hardest characters to find in the series. Wally's mentor of sorts, was Wizard Whtebeard. According to the story he was the one to send Waldo on this journey to find himself. He is recognized for his long white beard, blue wizards hat and red cloak. Eventually Wally's popularity grew to the point to where the Wally Watchers were created. They were Waldo's devoted fan-club and actually were featured in the Ultimate Fun Book.

Man of Many Names

Waldo originated in England but is known by different names in all of the countries that he has been introduced to.

• French=Charlie
• Hindi=Hetti
• Norway=Willy
• Croatia=Jura
• Denmark=Holger
• Czech=Valdik
• Estonia=Volli
• German=Walter
• Hungarian=Villi
• Italian=Ubaldo
• Korean=Wolli
• Vietnamese=Van Lang

Taking Waldo Fandom to a whole new level

Lesser Known Waldo Facts

• The book was shortly banned because there was a nude women on the beach in one of the scenes
• There is no formula for finding Waldo, he could be anywhere.
• Scientists have studied people searching for Waldo and have studied the brainwave patterns associated with it
• There are only 7 main books in the series, however many spin off versions have been produced.
• In 2011 3,872 people broke the World Record in Dublin for the most people gathered together dressed like Waldo.
• There was a Google Earth project called "Where on Earth is Waldo" where art students painted Waldo templates and encouraged people to put them on their roofs so that they would show up on Google Earth, and you could find him just like the books. http://whereonearthiswaldo.wordpress.com/
• The original character had round glasses, and a pom pom red and white striped beanie. Waldo's creator Hanford describe him as being like a "trainspotter" which was a phrase used in England in the 1980's describing someone who was a bit daft (Kind of silly or foolish, some might say, lost)
• The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) version of Where's Waldo is considered one of the worst video games of all time.
• Some actually have gotten a Waldo Scene tattoo

He is not a hard man to find

Waldo: From 1987-2014

Waldo has become a huge part of the popular culture of the past 25 years. Anybody under the age of 30 will most likely have fond memories of the garish yet memorable lost traveler. Many people choose to dress up as Waldo every year and decide to don the red and white beanie, the striped shirt and the black wire rim glasses. Waldo has become the kind of character that stands out while blending in. These Waldo costumes can be found online and sometimes in stores. Some people make their costumes but it is better to save your time and buy Waldo Costumes from trusted online retailers. Click here for more great costume ideas including Wenda costume sets and the complete Waldo Costume set including the shirt, glasses and beanie.

When does retro style become modern style.

When Does Retro Become Modern?

Each decade has had its own unique culture. Whether it was the fashion styles, the music, social trends, or popular entertainment. A movement, that has steadily been growing is retro. Retro can mean many different things to many different people. When it comes to style, retro has slowly become the new modern. Whether it is the clothes we wear or the music we choose to listen to, retro is here, and it is here to stay. We are currently seeing the resurgence of the 70's and 80's. The once overlooked styles like the floppy women's sun hats of the 70's to the classic bucket hats of the 80's are making a comeback in a big way.

70's Floppy Sun Hat

Nothing was more 70's than floppy straw sun hats for women. That image was plastered on pictures from that era. Whether they were worn at famous concerts like the infamous Woodstock or for long sunny days at the park. Women had taken to these hats, to the extent to which nobody had ever seen. The hat style slowly began to fizzle out around the dawn of the 1980's. Women had taken to new more compact hat style and that brought on the age of the visor. However, the floppy sun hat has quickly been making its way back into the mainstream. With skin protection and sun care becoming more important, seemingly everyday, women have looked to these hats for both style and sun protection. What does the future hold for the iconic floppy sun hat?

80's Visor

As we progressed out of the 70's and the demise of the floppy sun hat was almost complete, there was an emergence of a new style. That hat style would turn out to be the compact sun visor. These visors offered most of the protection that the floppy sun hats provided yet were compact, customizable, and inexpensive. You would have a hard time finding a company not using this new style for marketing campaign, promotions, or as part of a uniform. The popularity of the visor was catalyzed even further by tennis players, golfers, and women featured in music videos on the emerging MTV Music Television channel. But the trend that took off like a rocket, would slowly fizzle out once more. Just like the 70's the 80's has seen a resurgence in recent culture and the visor is slowly becoming as popular as it once was. The loud vibrant colors of the 80's have made their way back into the mainstream once again, thanks in part to the visor. The most popular materials these days include straw, terry cloth, cotton, and clip on PVC plastic.

Super Retro

The world of fashion has even seen a trend that I am going to call "Super Retro". This Super Retro style that was expedited by the "hipster" movement. Super Retro is moving to slowly bring back all of the popular styles of the 1920's-1950's. These classic styles like ivy caps, newsboy hats, top hats, and berets are becoming more prevalent in this "Super Retro" movement and in popular culture as well. The clothes are also reflecting this change in that classic vests, sweaters, even eyeglass styles have evolved and adapted to this new style. You could call this fashion style retro, but to the individuals that are a part of this movement it is not a just a style, but a way of life. The members of this movement have been shaping the styles of the last decade and it is showing no signs of stopping.

Retro Modern

At what point does retro become modern? You have only to walk into your nearest IKEA store to see this retro style spilling in modern styling. Even the music of today has subtle hints of the 70's and 80's prevalent in their infectious beats. It is time to finally embrace that retro is no long retro anymore. The styles of yesterday have become the styles of today. If these styles have become the basis of popular fashion or they really retro anymore? Regardless of what you call it, this style is one of my favorite styles of the last century and I for one, am happy that they are back.