Easter Eggs Hunters!

‘Easter eggs’ are decorated eggs which are used as gifts at Easter, a very important festival in Christianity. On Easter Day, children play a game with their families and friends where they go on an outdoor or indoor hunt for hidden Easter eggs. The eggs are sometimes made of chocolate, so they are a special treat for children to perform the ‘Easter egg hunt’. However, today the term Easter egg has a rather different meaning from its traditional counterpart.

<NOVELS>

In pop culture, Easter eggs are inside jokes, hidden messages or a secret feature one could deliberately or unintentionally find in many types of media, including software, games, movies, comics, books, dramas, and even advertisements. Since some popular games and movies started hiding secret content, fans are trying to find these hidden treasures while playing games or watching films. Now, that ‘Easter Egg hunting’ has become a widespread hit, The Dankook Herald explored the world of Easter egg hunting and where these sought after prizes may be hiding. How many of you know about them?

Egg 1: ‘The Lord of The Rings’

Many people may have already seen or even just heard about the movie ‘The Lord of The Rings’ directed by Peter Jackson. The stories are based on the best-selling fantasy trilogy written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Most readers may have noticed the fancy scribbles on the title pages of the novels and think they are part of the design or fit in for the fantasy collection. However, few actually know that Tolkien, before he was a writer, was a language professor at Oxford University.\

▲ The fancy writings actually contain secret message written by Tolkien himself. (Photo by: flavorwire.com)

The maps, markings inside the Ring and the names of the characters, are all creations of Tolkien and the world of Middle Earth is but a sandbox for him to play in with the languages he has created throughout his career! For example, on the original title page of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book of the Lord of the Rings, the rune letters translate to (according to fans): “The Lord of the Rings translated from the Red Book of Westmarch by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Herein is set forth the history of the War of the Ring and the Return of the King as seen by the Hobbits.”

Egg 2: ‘Alice in Wonderland’

‘Alice in Wonderland’, is perhaps one of the most well-known pieces of literature that if you haven’t already read it, you have certainly heard of it. For years many have speculated about the origins of the main character, Alice. Readers wondered, was she based on a real person? The answer can be found in the book’s sequel, Through the Looking Glass. At the end of the sequel, an acrostic poem entitled “A Boat Beneath the Sunny Sky”, in which the first letter of every line spells out “Alice Pleasance Liddell", reveals the answer. Liddell was a family friend of Lewis Carroll and the story of Alice in Wonderland was written to please the Liddell sisters when they were on a boating trip.

<MOVIES>

Egg 1: Disney Series

Disney used to provide the most hidden eggs inside movies as a means of viewers connecting to their films. For example, in ‘Frozen’, there is a scene where Rapunzel appears in the movie. The purpose of this was to show the audience the link between the two movies. Also, the recently released movie ‘Incredibles 2’ contains a scene where Mr. Incredible was trying to get Jack-Jack to fall asleep, and a picture of ‘Dumbo’ was imprinted on the bedroom wallpaper. In 2019, a new Dumbo movie will be released, and this is Disney’s way of giving notice of the upcoming movie.

▲ Rapunzel can be seen in this scene of Frozen, can you spot her? (Photo by: Huffingtonpost)

Egg 2: Marvel

These days, many Marvel fans believe that finding Marvel movie hidden eggs is one of the most attractive parts to watching their films. There was a hidden egg in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. In the last scene of the movie, before Nick Fury turns to ashes, he tries to contact someone through a little device. It turns out he sent a hidden message to another superhero, Captain Marvel, the main superhero character in some Marvel Comics, as she will appear in the next Marvel movie.

<ADVERTISEMENTS>

Egg 1: Burger King

Burger King used hidden messages in their advertising of the ‘Whole Shrimp Whopper’. In this ad, four large shrimp walk, single file across the sidewalk, just like ‘The Beatles’ did on their iconic album cover Abbey Road. They chose to do this because the word ‘abbey’ is pronounced the same as the word ‘shrimp(エビ)’ in Japanese! So, this advertisement had a double meaning. Burger King uses clever wordplay in their advertisements because they think it sets them apart from others. These double meanings entertain customers and leave a strong impression with viewers.

▲ A shrimpy Easter egg hiding inside the Burger King ad. (Photo from kmgbiz.com)

Egg 2: KIA

Another advertisement with a hidden egg is an ad by Kia Motors. In the ad for the K5 model, we can hear a Morse code sound, like a ‘beep~ beep beep~ beep beep beep beep beep!’ This mechanical sound was actually typing out K5 through Morse code. This advertisement technique is called ‘sound branding’. This is when the brand or product name is repeated often enough with an accompanying sound that when we hear the sound, we know the product. "K5 is planning to differentiate itself by introducing sound branding for the first time in automotive advertising." said a representative for Kia Motors marketing.

<GAMES>

Egg 1: Overwatch

There are a lot of Easter Eggs in the game ‘Overwatch’. For example, in the map of ‘Li Zhang tower’ we can see flowers and a name in memory of a person who died in an accident while chasing a thief. Also, various game consoles help reveal many parodies of other famous games like ‘Metal Slug’ or ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ in their games.

Actually, the production company for Overwatch, ‘Blizzard’, likes to hide some of their original work in their more recent productions. In the map for ‘Blizzard World’ in Overwatch, the attack starting point is featured with a ‘Hearthstone’ atmosphere, while the first occupation spot feels like a scene from ‘World of Warcraft’, the second occupation scene has the slight sense of ‘Starcraft’ and the last spot has a feel of the cathedral from ‘Diablo’.

Egg 2: Battle Ground

Did you know, that the game ‘Battle Ground’ which is gaining serious popularity also has an Easter egg? When you play the mobile version of Battle Ground, you can find a structure composed of strange colorful containers. When you climb this strange building you can see a chicken, the symbol of Battle Ground, that doesn't fit the atmosphere, somehow sitting on top of this structure. This chicken also never dies no matter how many times we crack our bullets!

Egg 3: Outlast

You can also find an Easter egg in the game ‘Outlast’. This is known as the masterpiece of horror game for the new generation. Unlike the dark atmosphere of the game, if you look closely at the refrigerator, ballpoint pen, and the drug box that you encounter during the game, you can nonsensically see the name of ‘Philippe Morin’, the co-founder of the production company. There is also a more horrible Easter egg found in the game. When you go to the elevator in the middle of the hallway in the lobby of Chapter 1, and press a button, a strange psychopath suddenly appears screaming and falling down. He dies with his body twisted.

▲ The name of Outlast's game designer, Philippe Morin can be spotted on petty objects shattered throughout the game. (Photo by: Outlast Wiki)

<MUSIC>

There are some Easter Eggs even inside music we listen to. ‘Back-masking’ is a technique where music producers intentionally record a certain sound in a song that you can only hear clearly when you play the song in reverse.

Egg 1: Talk to Me

In the song ‘Talk to Me’, a mini-album from the female idol group ‘Red Velvet’, contains a humming back mask between the introduction and the bridge. If we play that part in the reverse, we can hear the words "tell me everything."

Egg 2: Outro: Love is Not Over

‘Outro: Love is Not Over’ from the ‘In the Mood for Love’ Part 1 album by BTS, also contains an example of backmasking. If you reverse the strange sound you hear in the second half, you will hear 'Love is painful, love is painful, and parting seems to be painful and worse.'