Line #86 Main/KilroyWasHere


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheShawshankRedemption https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brooks25.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Alice was here]]]]
6	->''"Who is this Kilroy?! And what was he doing in my bathroom?!"''
7	-->--'''UsefulNotes/JosefStalin''', during the Potsdam Conference
8	So you're somewhere -- on vacation, at war, time traveling, teleporter accident, whatever -- and you want something that'll stick around longer than just a FunTShirt. That's easy, just vandalize a handy surface![[note]]Vandalism is illegal in most places, so DontTryThisAtHome. (Or anywhere else, really.)[[/note]]
9
10	This trope is pretty much as old as humanity itself (it's posited that there are hand-prints at Lascaux for this very reason, among other theories), but the {{Trope Namer\|s}} is a bit of MemeticMutation from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII whose origin has many stories (see RealLife section below).
11
12	Not to be confused with [[Music/KilroyWasHere the Styx album]].
13	----
14	!!Troper was here:
15
16	[[foldercontrol]]
17
18	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
19	* ''Manga/CityHunter'': [[TheHero Ryo]], who enjoys mocking his adversaries and pulling pranks on them, is quite fond of playing this trope when he infiltrates into his enemies' lairs. Before leaving, he vandalizes pictures, writes insults on the walls -or comments about their enemies' penis size-, paints drawings of them... He makes this because an angry enemy is prone to commit mistakes... but mostly because he gets a good laugh out of pissing them off.
20	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
21	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'': On a plane riding towards Sardinia, Giorno finds writing nearby the window that discusses the Stand, Notorious Big, then finds out in horror he wrote the message because the Stand itself has latched onto his hand.
22	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun Steel Ball Run]]'': At some point during the race, Hot Pants paid for a cow that she marked with her insignia be out in the field. She later threatens to hang Johnny and Gyro when she accuses them of killing it.
23	* ''Anime/LupinIII'' is fond of leaving a token caricature of his face, usually on paper, but sometimes as a graffito.
24	* ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'': In an early episode, Ash, already insecure from how poorly he is faring compared to his Pallet Town peers, discovers a piece of graffiti, from his personal rival, on a sign in a town he had only just reached.
25	-->"Gary was here! Ash is a loser!" (The Japanese version is "Shigeru is the best! Satoshi is an idiot!"
26	[[/folder]]
27
28	[[folder:Arts]]
29	* In ''Art/TheArnolfiniPortrait'', the painter added the legend ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnolfini_Portrait#mediaviewer/File:The_Arnolfini_Portrait,_d%C3%A9tail_(6).jpg "Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434]]" (which translates as "[[Creator/HubertAndJanVanEyck Jan van Eyck]] was here 1434").
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Comic Books]]
33	* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': In one of the books, a centurion is shouting at an Egyptian for carving his name on a Roman temple, asking how he'd like it if they did that to his temples. This is likely a HistoricalInJoke to Italian archaeologist Giovanni Belzoni, who carved his name and those of his expedition's members in an Egyptian temple.
34	* ''ComicBook/TheCartoonHistoryOfTheUniverse'' shows a Greek mercenary leaving his name on some Egyptian architecture.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
38	* ''ComicStrip/FootrotFlats'': In one strip, Wal makes a speech about how insignificant it makes one feel knowing that an ancient tree will still be standing centuries after he's dead. He then carves "Wal Footrot Was Here" into the trunk.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Fan Works]]
42	* In the ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10596850/1/Heaven-s-Conscripts Heaven's Conscripts]]'', Rico finds the names of soldiers that had been carved in the rocks a hundred years ago when the Dolomites were a battleground between Italian and Austrian forces in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. After killing three terrorists, she carves their names in the rock as well.
43	* ''Fanfic/ShowdownNoHoldingBack'': Yolo finds a spot on the wall in his bedroom where two other past tributes wrote their names and what Hunger Games they were about to be sent into. He adds his own name and date next to their names.
44	* ''Fanfic/TwelveRedLines'': In Chapter 36, while going through Shandora, Robin mentions that she's found Roger's writing all over the ruins, with this being the most frequent message.
45	* In ''Fanfic/MiraculousThePhoenixRises'', Morgan writes her name all over her desk in black marker, stating that the [[ExactWords the board said to write their name on their desks.]].
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
49	* ''Film/CastAway'': Chuck Noland does this before sailing away from the island he was marooned on, presumably to leave a record in case he dies at sea.
50	* ''Film/{{Damsel}}'': When Elodie takes shelter from the dragon, she finds a wall where dozens of the dragon's previous victims wrote their names. She adds her own name before leaving.
51	* ''Film/TheKillingRoom'': Several people are locked in a room and forced to take part in a lethal MindControl experiment. One finds HELP ME and a list of names has been scratched into the wall. Then they find names are scratched over ''all'' the walls. The anonymous researcher secretly watching the experiment then brags, "It used to take six to eight hours to reach this point, but leaving those names [[NothingIsScarier really sped up the process]]."
52	* ''Film/{{Gallipoli}}'': The diggers are shown carving their names into the stones of the Pyramids. Very much TruthInTelevision.
53	* ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'': While taking shelter in a treehouse, the heroes find "Alan Parrish was here" etched on a branch, Alan being the protagonist of the original ''Film/{{Jumanji}}''. None of them have any idea who that is, but they figure that it was another person who got sucked into the game just like they were.
54	* ''Film/KellysHeroes'': In the end, the American captain, always one step behind the heroes, finds the bank looted and the gold gone with the message painted on the wall.
55	* ''Franchise/{{Quatermass}}'': "Kilroy Was Here" can be seen written in a tunnel in the Hammer film version of ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
56	* ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption''. Before hanging himself because he doesn't fit into the world outside prison, Brooks carves [[TearJerker BROOKS WAS HERE]]. Later, Red occupies the same room and scratched, "So was Red", but he didn't intend to follow Brooks' lead.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Literature]]
60	* ''Literature/TheBoyOnTheBridge'': When [=McQueen=] and Phillips get the atmosphere samples from the last cache, on the Cairngorm Plateau, Phillips pauses to leave his dogtags behind as a memento for anyone else who ever finds the place.
61	* ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'': In ''I, Jedi'', Luke Skywalker reveals that he, Wedge, and Biggs carved their names and a slogan ("TheEmpire or us -- there is no compromise") on the night before attacking the Death Star as a cross between this and a [[TheDeadHaveNames preemptive memorial in case their side lost]].
62	* ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'': Sun Wukong makes a bet with the Buddha that he can leap out of Buddha's grasp. He goes an extreme distance away and finds a set of pillars. Thinking that he'd won, he leaves the words "Sun Wukong Was Here" on the middle pillar and urinates on it for good measure. [[spoiler:Turns out the "pillars" were Buddha's fingers. Oops!]]
63	* "Literature/TheMessage": The protagonist, a time traveler from the 30th century, visits northern Africa during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (20th century). Time travellers are [[TheWatcher forbidden from interfering with the past]], but he carves a message on the wall of the hut he was in, telling people George Kilroy was here. Supposedly [[HistoricalInJoke the first time anyone left the tag]], creating a MemeticMutation. [[invoked]]
64	* ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'': There is a mountain that is only conquered for the first time -- that is, you are always "the first person to ever climb it"; it is impossible to get on the top as long as there is any memory of anyone doing it before. As such, leaving a tag at the top blocks everyone else from finding it until the tag is worn out by the elements.
65	* ''Literature/OurDumbCentury'': The page for [[https://www.theonion.com/april-20-1943-1819587544 April 20, 1943]] has the famous image with the caption "Kilroy was here" on the upper-right corner.
66	* ''Literature/TheYiddishPolicemensUnion'': Detective Landsman is thrown into a cell by the villains, and chillingly finds a snarky comment written by his dead sister carved on the wall, written ''after'' the date she [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident supposedly died in a plane crash]].
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
70	* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': The season 2 premiere sees Gene carve a message on a wall reading "SG was here" after getting locked in the room where the dumpsters are.
71	* ''Series/{{Community}}'': Two Kilroy faces appear in the opening credits, with the noses forming the L's in "Joel [=McHale=]".
72	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E3TheInvasion "The Invasion"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate "Warrior's Gate"]], "Kilroy Was Here" is seen; first written on a lift shaft, later spray painted onto a wall inside a spaceship. Legend has it that the former, at least, was in tribute to the "Kilroy was here" marked on the lift shaft of the studio in which ''Doctor Who'' was taped during the Troughton years, Lime Grove studio D, which was on an upper floor reached by a large (but not very large) freight elevator. In the latter example, Kilroy turns out to be a member of the spacecraft's crew.
73	* ''Series/TheFlash2014'': In "The Trial of the Flash", Barry Allen is framed for murder and sent to prison. He finds "Henry Allen was here" scratched on his cell's wall, indicating it was the same cell his father had previously been incarcerated in. Later, he scratches "So was Barry".
74	* ''Main/{{MASH}}'': The name "Kilroy" is written on the dirty window of one of the Army buses.
75	* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'': Randy had regularly done graffiti like this, and after the episode where he goes back to school, he sends Earl to correct it since he [Randy] realizes that his spelling was wrong.
76	* ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' features "The Scorch", the oldest unreplaced outer hull plate on the ''Enterprise''. Signing it is in illicit rite of passage on "Enterprise Bingo", as is the requisite extravehicular excursion in space suits. In the season 1 episode "Spock Amok", the two notoriously uptight senior staffers Commander Una Chin-Riley (AKA NumberOne) and Security Chief La'an Noonien Singh catch wind of Enterprise Bingo and try it for themselves, finally understanding and partaking in the spirit of the game's lower-ranks mischief by forgoing the space suits and enveloping the outer hull sector that the Scorch is in with an atmospheric containment forcefield to go sign it... leaving a perplexing curio for the next ensigns going for a Scorch-signing, considering the pair's reputation.
77	** In a FreezeFrameBonus, one of the other signatures is none other than Creator/LucilleBall's (remember that ''Trek'' wouldn't exist if she hadn't taken a chance on it in the 1960s).
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Music]]
81	* Music/IronMaiden: On the cover of the ''Powerslave'' album, the wall of the Egyptian tomb has "Indiana Jones Was Here" written on it. It's easier to see on the vinyl release.
82	* As noted above, Music/{{Styx}} released an album in 1983 named, yes, ''Music/KilroyWasHere''. The opening movie did feature rebel rockers using 'rock code' graffiti, albeit more for communication.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Radio]]
86	* ''Radio/TheBlackMuseum'': In "The Notes", the police find notes saying "Kilroy Was Here". The police eventually realize that [[spoiler:the killer is actually telling them his name is Kilroy]].
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
90	* ''TabletopGame/D20Modern'': The "Weird Wars" setting uses "Kilroy" as a kind of spirit that has allied itself with the Allies. It possesses random soldiers and leads them to perform suicidally effective charges against Axis positions. When its host is killed, it discorporates, always leaving the graffiti "Kilroy woz 'ere" imprinted on a nearby surface.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Video Games]]
94	* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': Multiple graffiti found throughout the cities are written by members from [[WhiteGangBangers The Factio Pugni]] claiming they own the land sea.
95	* At the start of ''VideoGame/ChicoryAColorfulTale'', Pizza can let Pickle hold the brush, at which point they'll draw their own face on the ground and then thank you for the opportunity.
96	* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'': Checking a certain sign in Summers shows a message from Porky insulting Ness.
97	* ''VideoGame/EdnaAndHarveyTheBreakout'': Edna can write "Edna was here" and some variations on many surfaces throughout the game, at one point even on the moon.
98	* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' has graffiti in every safe house as a form of pseudo-communication between groups of survivors. Among them is Chicago Ted, whose statistics for zombie killing become something of a legend.
99	* ''VideoGame/Planet404'': Some unseen character named Buff scrawled his attendance in several different places, such as a secret pirate base and an imperial jail cell.
100	--> "Buff was here too"
101	* ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'': Outside Lilycove City's Pokémon Fan Club building, it's noted that a number of Trainers have scribbled their names all over its sign. There is also a small island in the waters by Seaside Cycling Road that Team Aqua (or Magma) have tagged ("Team Aqua Was Here!").
102	* ''VideoGame/ScoobyDooBigAir'': The 1700 message reads "Old Man Jenkins was here", while 4100 reads "Shaggy was here".
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Web Comics]]
106	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': There's a gag [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0017.html when Elan shows that his rapier is actually useful]] by carving "The Order of the Stick was here!" into the dungeon wall.
107	%%* ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'': "Millie was here and she probably still is."
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	%%[[folder:Web Original]]
111	%%* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': "Rad, rad Robotank!"
112	%%[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Western Animation]]
115	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'': Riley graffio-tags his name in big bold letters, "Riley Wuz Here", then wonders how he got caught.
116	* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'': In "[[Recap/CodeLyokoS2E15 Ultimatum]]", the phrase is graffitied on the back wall of an abandoned meatpacking facility where Odd and Yumi are held captive by a XANA-fied Delmas.
117	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': In "The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverrest", Huey writes "Huey was here" in his novelty map of Mt. Neverrest, pointing out the spot where the expedition ends. Then the map serendipitously ends up on the summit anyway.
118	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': At the end of ''WesternAnimation/ChannelChasers'', Vicky's sister Tootie gives [[AdultsAreUseless Timmy's parents]] pictures of all the damage Vicky has caused over her time as babysitter. One such picture displays her scratching "Vicky Was Here" on the side of the parents' car, which they had blamed Timmy for.
119	--> '''Timmy's Dad:''' Vicky was key-scratching "Vicky Was Here" on my car! I punished ''Timmy'' for key-scratching "Vicky Was Here" on my car!
120	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
121	** Stewie claims to have scratched "[[Film/TheShawshankRedemption Brooks was here]]" on the wall of Lois' uterus while he was being born. He admits that he did it "[[ItAmusedMe just to be a jerk]]".
122	** In "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS2E1PeterPeterCaviarEater Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater]]", one of Peter's attempt to pass Cherrywood Manor as a historical place consists on scratching "Jesus was here" and giving the scratch a ''[[BlatantLies before Christ]]'' date. When asked how Jesus could have written anything at all before his own birth, Peter [[HandWave handwaves]] that Jesus could do anything.
123	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': In "Adobe Dick", Fred and Barney are swallowed by a whale. Inside, they spot a graffito that reads "Jonah was here".
124	* ''WesternAnimation/KingSizeCanary'': A cat opens a sardine box, only for him to find nothing but a small sign reading "Kilroy was here!"
125	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
126	** "WesternAnimation/HaredevilHare": WesternAnimation/BugsBunny lands on the moon (in 1948) and mentions that he's the first living creature to do so. He then passes a rock with "Kilroy was here" written on it.
127	** "WesternAnimation/RebelRabbit" has Bugs paint the Washington Monument to look like a barber pole, then signs it "Bugs Bunny Was Here". He then rewires the signs in Times Square to read "Bugs Bunny Wuz Here".
128	* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': In "The Ricklantis Mix-up", At Mortytown, some Mortys are spraying "Morty wuz here" on a wall.
129	* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'': In "Jedi in Chief", where UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush becomes a Jedi, at one point he vandalizes the Lincoln Memorial by using his lightsaber to carve a message. Since ''Robot Chicken'' portrays Bush as dimwitted, he writes, "W Wuz Hear".
130	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
131	** In earlier seasons, "El Barto" graffiti tags can be seen all over town. [[PoliceAreUseless Unsurprisingly]], the cops never suspect Bart as the culprit.
132	** Homer tries doing this using the name El Homo, which results in him [[MistakenForGay getting hit on by a man passing by]].
133	** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E24LemonOfTroy Lemon of Troy]]": Bart writes his name in wet concrete, with an ImagineSpot of the future, where archaeologists speculate on what he might be like.
134	* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'': In "[[Recap/TeenTitansGoS1E33Sidekick Sidekick]]", Robin graffitis the words "The Joker was here" on the side of the ruined Batmobile to blame him for the damages.
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Real Life]]
138	* "Kilroy was here" is a version of this that became popular during World War Two and has maintained on-again off-again relevance since; however it originated (Website/TheOtherWiki has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilroy_was_here a few theories]]), American soldiers began leaving Kilroy everywhere, and took the meme home with them when they returned to the US. The graffiti typically consist of the basic phrase scrawled over a wall or other surface, usually alongside a stylized figure depicting a bald, long-nosed figure peering over the top of a wall.
139	** During the Potsdam Conference, UsefulNotes/HarryTruman allegedly had some fun at UsefulNotes/JosephStalin's expense by sneaking into his private bathroom and writing this on the wall. Stalin, in characteristic fashion, had the KGB on high alert looking for this mysterious "Kilroy". Though given that [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]] had just ended a scant few weeks earlier, being on [[ProperlyParanoid high security]] makes a good deal of sense.
140	* Graffiti tags. There's even a "language" associated with specific artists and gangs depending on what elements are present in a tag.
141	* Places like Names Hill, Register Cliff, and Independence Rock in Wyoming; according to Wikipedia, people on the Oregon Trail and the like carved or had carved their names in them. Names Hill also has Native American pictographs.
142	* One Viking trader scratched "Halfdan was here" in his native language into a parapet of the Hagia Sophia when he visited Istanbul. Similar tags have been found in several places in the Mediterranean, as well as in the complex at Skara Brae in Orkney.
143	* [[http://www.ancient-egypt.co.uk/people/pages/belzoni.htm Giovanni Battista Belzoni]] as quoted here: "To commemorate this memorable exploit, Belzoni carved his name and those of his fellow adventurers, as well as the date, on the north wall of the temple sanctuary, where the statues of Amun-Re, Re Harakthi, the deified Ramesses II and Ptah sat. Such carving was [[ValuesDissonance common practice in those days]] as unequivocal demonstration of the ownership of a monument or the paternity of a discovery."
144	* Pompeii is notorious for the quantity of Roman graffiti that were preserved within it, which include a variety of snipes from the graffiti-maker to other people, boasts and brags, and various markings of people's passage through the area.
145	-->''"[[TrueCompanions We two dear men, friends forever, were here]]. If you want to know our names, they are Gaius and Aulus."''
146	* Soldiers from the Romans in the 50s BCE to the British in the 1940s left their names on the Pyramids at Giza.
147	* On nearly any web site that allows people to leave comments, anyone making the first post will just comment with "First" as a way of saying "I was here".
148	* Mikhail Ushats, a student of Moscow Architectural Institute in the 1940s, had a habit of labeling various objects with his surname. This led to several pranks, which resulted in a [=MArchI=] in-joke of scribbling "Ушац" or even "Ушацъ" (with an outdated pre-1917 spelling) on various surfaces. A number of Soviet films feature "Ушац" written somewhere on the wall as an EasterEgg.
149	[[/folder]]
150	----

Context Main / KilroyWasHere