Where on Earth is Waldo, (Soon to Be) the Google Maps Version

Posted by Alex in Arts & Crafts, Blog & Internet, Pictures on April 8, 2008 at 2:40 pm



Photo: 1-800-AIREELZ.COM

Artist Melanie Coles (and friends) created a giant 54-foot tall Waldo on a rooftop somewhere in Vancouver, Canada. The idea is to wait till a Google fly-by, so we can all then play Where (on Earth) is Waldo on Google Maps!

Link – via Beyond Robson, thanks Duran Cheung!


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32 comments to "Where on Earth is Waldo, (Soon to Be) the Google Maps Version"

  1. Selvo
    April 8th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    AHHH! This is a crazy idea. Cant wait to find it and be all smart. :P

  2. jessleigh
    April 8th, 2008 at 2:58 pm

    I LOVE this idea! There should be a prize for the person who finds all the Waldo images!

  3. Less Than Jake
    April 8th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

    i find the whole waldo/wally thing a bit confusing.

    i always believed they were British books, and over here he's called wally, except his nemisis sort of guy the yellow striped one, is called odlaw, which is waldo backwards.
    just seems a bit strange as to why they did that really

  4. Lore
    April 8th, 2008 at 3:27 pm

    Sounds like fun. I'm in!

  5. jack.wh
    April 8th, 2008 at 3:31 pm

    Oh em geeee. TY LTJ! Waldo is Odlaw backwards! And I never realised! :o

  6. su.wei
    April 8th, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    i like the contest idea...where's waldo around the world lol

  7. JoBo S
    April 8th, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    I use to LOVE Where's Waldo. This is such a great idea!

  8. Thomas
    April 8th, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    Found him.

  9. cherishimo
    April 8th, 2008 at 4:04 pm

    No, no, no. It should be "Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?"

  10. Justin
    April 8th, 2008 at 4:07 pm

    I loved those books when I was a kid!

  11. Oomi
    April 8th, 2008 at 4:25 pm

    People with lotsa time on their hands.

  12. CheeseDuck
    April 8th, 2008 at 4:29 pm

    As a kid, I always wondered if you got paid to find Waldo in real life.

  13. andrewdoane
    April 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    What a fun thing to do. Good for her.

    I had a similar idea. Because I can't think of a way to make money on it, here it is: companies should put their logos on their roofs. I was looking for a Target on a Google Maps aerial photo and I thought I had the right building but I wasn't sure. Wouldn't it have been convenient for me, and money-making for Target, if there had been a huge red Target logo on the roof so that I could be sure?

    Little stores couldn't do it because they wouldn't have roof space, and local businesses probably don't have well-known logos. But McDonalds, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. could make finding their locations very easy.

  14. RHINNY
    April 8th, 2008 at 5:29 pm

    W. 4th and Maple! I take the bus by there every day, it's unmistakable.

  15. matt
    April 8th, 2008 at 5:49 pm

    It doesn't appear on google maps yet. Here's the location
    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=W.+4th+and+Maple,+van couver&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.764446,96.328125&ie=UTF8&ll=49.2 67754,-123.149496&spn=0.001183,0.00294&t=h&z=19

  16. ted
    April 8th, 2008 at 6:32 pm

    Or you could just look up the address of the Target store itself. Do you really need to identify it by air to find it on the ground?

  17. empty-minded
    April 8th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

    Is that a steam pipe sticking up at Waldo's bum?

  18. Ali S.
    April 8th, 2008 at 8:54 pm

    Hrmmm. I can't wait to see Waldo in the middle of the desert!

  19. Tempscire
    April 8th, 2008 at 9:04 pm

    Silly, now I know where to look!

  20. Skip the Filler
    April 8th, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    This'd be ideal for Guess Where Vancouver :)
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/guesswherevancouver/

  21. Less Than Jake
    April 9th, 2008 at 3:16 am

    this is my local supermarket, and it does have it's name on the roof like someone mentioned.
    http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=cheadle&ie=UTF8&ll=53.37618,-2.215714& spn=0.001421,0.006781&t=h&z=18

    but this isn't a goolgle maps thing it's because the incoming flight path of manchester airport runs right by, hence why it's upside down

  22. ross
    April 9th, 2008 at 4:53 am

    that is just great!

    how often do the Google sats fly by? my house hasn't been "updated" yet!

  23. BikerRay
    April 9th, 2008 at 5:26 am

    ross - There are no "Google sats" - they buy the data from various sources. Depending on where it is, it could be as short as a year or two. Or never. (A lot of areas are still in original low resolution.)

  24. Philo
    April 9th, 2008 at 6:17 am

    Let's hope Google Maps is faster to update some regions like this more than others. They haven't updated my area for years.

  25. Algonkin
    April 9th, 2008 at 6:27 am

    Brilliant idea!!

  26. definitelyme
    April 9th, 2008 at 6:52 am

    yeah, why is it "Where's Wally" in England?

  27. OddNumber
    April 9th, 2008 at 9:10 am

    D'oh. I had an idea to mow a funny shape in a field, but you're idea is better so I'll give up.

    I guess I will have to find out when the google street view cars will be rolling by so I can put funny stuff in my neighbor's driveway.

  28. fsmarch
    April 9th, 2008 at 10:50 am

    Clever idea!

  29. estrider
    April 9th, 2008 at 11:25 am

    Hi! Glad to see all the comments! I am involved in Melanie's project and it is great fun. Now all we need is for Google Earth to fly by and take a snapshot. I wrote an article on my blog about the "Where on Earth is Waldo" project in relation to the question of "Is Google God?". I show a photo from 2007 where a huge (biodegradable) Homer Simpson showed up on a British hillside next to a famous fertility symbol chalkdrawing, the "Cerne Abbas Giant". Here is a link to my article:
    http://cameofagebeforecomputers.blogspot.com/
    Nancy

  30. Chris
    April 9th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    @definitelyme : why is it “Where’s Wally” in England?
    Yep, it should be something else...

    http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article75115.ece

  31. Kelly
    April 9th, 2008 at 11:21 pm

    where's waldo, the movie:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwGU_Zy6LAg

    I was waldo for halloween last year. the best reaction I got was "There you are"

  32. Bruce
    August 19th, 2008 at 3:59 am

    Thats neat! Even harder to find in a city full of color....now who's going to make Carmen San Diego?


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