Bill Myers

During WWII, James J. Kilroy's job was to inspect the bulkhead rivets in newly built troop transport ships. After completing each inspection, he chalked the words 'Kilroy was here' on the bulkhead.

To the troops being transported in those ships, the meaning of 'Kilroy was here' was a complete mystery. All they knew for sure was that he had been there and signed his name. As a joke, they began scrawling 'Kilroy was here' graffiti wherever US forces landed, claiming it was already there when they arrived.

http://www.kilroywashere.org

It became a challenge to place the motto in the most unlikely places. It was said to be written atop Mt. Everest, the Statue of Liberty, the underside of the Arch de Triumphe, and in the dust on the moon.

On the occasion of the historic Potsdam conference, an outhouse was built for the exclusive use of Truman, Stalin, and Churchill. The first person to use it was Stalin. He emerged and asked his aide (in Russian), "Who is Kilroy?"

The Kilroy story is a great example of the marketing technique known as 'leaving footprints'. The concept is this: every place you visit on the net, you should consider leaving a footprint leading back to your own site. But unlike the Kilroy message, which was posted indiscriminately, your footprint should be placed only where it is appropriate.

If you do this often enough your site might become as famous as Kilroy. See my recent article for more details with actual examples.

For more about the ledgend of Kilroy see http://www.kilroywashere.org