Written By: Whitney Matheson, USA TODAY
Today marks a very special day for Waldo, that elusive little guy with the glasses and red-and-white shirt: It's his 25th birthday.
He's not taking the celebration lightly, either: Several "Where's Waldo?"-themed celebrations are planned all over the globe. The festivities kicked off last night in the U.K., where the London Eye lit up in red and white. (Across the pond, the character is known as "Wally.")
Tonight the Empire State Building will do the same, showing red and white colors for the beloved icon. Waldo is also featured on the front page of MSN.com today, will be showcased in an upcoming Jeopardy! category and will soon appear on a NASCAR vehicle.
The renewed exposure isn't too shabby for a property that debuted back in '87. Rather than fading into the background with other retro entertainment, today more than 58 million Where's Waldo? books have sold and more than 6.4 million iPhone/iPad apps have been downloaded. (I'll admit I have it on my phone!) Incredibly, Waldo also has 4.4 million "likes" on Facebook.
Aside from donning your best Waldo getup today, here are a few other ways you could mark the occasion:
- Get your hands on limited-edition Waldo apparel from Comme des Garcons;
- Try on a pair of "Waldo" glasses from Warby Parker;
- Pick up one of Candlewick Press' 25th anniversary editions of Where's Waldo?.
I hope Waldo has an excellent b-day. However, he may want to consider cutting back on all this publicity; in the coming months, it sounds like he'll be easier to spot than ever before.