Daniel Russell knows how to find the answers to questions you can't get to with a simple Google query. In his weekly Search Research column, Russell issues a search challenge, then follows up later in the week with his solution?using whatever search technology and methodology fits the bill.
After last week's challenging challenge, I figured everyone would like a fun puzzle, one that shows you an aspect of life that you don't normally see. I certainly don't try tracking down graffiti artists by internet searches... but this message from Robert M was just too good to resist.
As most people did, my first search was straight-forward:
[ graffiti crosswalk yellow man ]
Why didn't I try image search first? Because I had no hope that I could find a match out there. The image that Robert sent me was at an odd angle, rotated, etc. Maybe it would have worked, but I figured that I'd just try regular web search first...and it worked out pretty well.
After looking around a bit, I found that this figure is called "Stickman" or "Stikman"?and once you've got THAT bit of information, it's possible to find LOTS of collections of images of the yellow man, usually in crosswalks... but sometimes in other places.
So, while the evidence seems to point to an artist tagged as "Bob," given the distribution and variation in styles of Stikman, it's more likely that there are a number of Bobs out there, making the world a bit more playful and light.
Stephan Lowman from the Washington Post wrote up a story about "Bob" that seems genuine and plausible. But you know how guerrilla art movements go...this is probably just the tip of the iceberg, the shape of which is probably unknowable.
Long live Stikman!
Search on...for more Stikmen....
Answer: What's the story of the yellow guy? | SearchReSearch
Daniel M. Russell studies the way people search and research?an anthropologist of search, if you will. You can read more from Russell on his SearchReSearch blog, and stay tuned for his weekly challenges (and answers) here on Lifehacker.
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