Global Wordsearch Day 2026
Image Credit: ©eParenting
What Is Global Wordsearch Day?
Global Wordsearch Day is a worldwide celebration of the fun puzzles where all you have to do is find the words, hidden amongst a collection of randomly placed letters (or occasionally numbers).
It is held on 16th January each year.
The date of 16th January was chosen randomly, as it is usually a cold miserable and probably rainy day (OK, in the Southern Hemisphere), right in the middle of winter, so it's the perfect time to settle down and do a wordsearch.
The first recorded publication of a wordsearch was in 1968. It is widely credited to Norman Gibat, who published a local advertising flyer in his home town of Norman, Oklahoma USA. A wordsearch puzzle was included in the flyer, which was distributed free of charge. However it has also been suggested that there had been both English and Spanish-language wordsearch-type puzzles published earlier than this date.
Whoever the originator actually was, wordsearches were originally intended as a paper and pencil puzzle to be solved like a crossword puzzle. However the advent of computors allowed electronic versions to be developed and eventually leading to wordsearch puzzles that could be played online, or downloaded and printed out.
Wordsearches are a brilliant way to keep your brain active no matter how old or young you are, and they can help to improve your vocabulary too.
If you want to celebrate Global Wordsearch Day, here are some things to do.
- Do a Wordsearch.
That should do it. Happy Global Wordsearch Day!
Global Wordsearch Day Printables
Here is a wordsearch all about Global Wordsearch Day. Can you find the word-y words hidden in the puzzle?
Global Wordsearch Day Printable Puzzle
A wordsearch with lots of wordsearch-related words to get your brain working on Global Wordsearch Day.