# Word Searches only date to 1968?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-searches-only-date-to-1968/450408>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [May 23, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-searches-only-date-to-1968/450408 "2008-05-23T20:13:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-searches-only-date-to-1968/450408/1 "2008-05-23T20:13:13Z")

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I saw this claim today on a puzzle site (crosswords, quizzes, etc.) I frequent, so I did a little research and found [this article.](http://www.fostoria.org/Innovations/innovations.html) I guess it’s possible that Norman Gibat had never seen such a puzzle when he created his grid of hidden Oklahoma cities, but I was born in 1959 and had several activity books as a kid. I’m almost certain that some of these volumes that were purchased before I turned nine featured “word seeks”, “WonderWords”, or whatever the creators called them.

Does anyone else remember pre-1968 instances of this diversion? It would be great if some **Doper** had actually kept an example and could scan it onto a personal page for our viewing, but I’ll settle for anecdotes that confirm my suspicions.