Suggestions and questions are welcome and encouraged.
| PUB DATE | WEEK | TITLE | SYNOPSIS | THEMES | LINKS TO THIS CONTEST | WINNER | LINKS TO RESULTS OF THIS CONTEST (usually published 2-4 Weeks later) |
| April 11, 1993 | 6 | PUTTING WORDS IN THEIR MOUTHS | In 40 words or less, write a caption for either of these two generic cartoons drawn by famed Style Invitational artist Marc Rosenthal. | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| July 18, 1993 | 20 | COMIC RELIEF | Rewrite 60-year-old cartoons, filling in your own balloons, to make them funnier and more timely. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| October 24, 1993 | 34 | INSPECT A GADGET | What do these machines do? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Reef family | Text file | Contest image |
| April 3, 1994 | 57 | CALLING THE TOON | Who are these people, and what are they doing? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| May 1, 1994 | 61 | NO HARD FEELINGS | Fill in the balloons in these cheerful farewell panels drawn by Marc Rosenthal, the Style Invitational artist who is being replaced by Bob Staake. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| October 9, 1994 | 82 | PICTURE THIS | Who are these people, and what are they doing? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| February 5, 1995 | 99 | WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE PICTURES? | What's wrong with these pictures? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| March 26, 1995 | 106 | DRAWING CONCLUSIONS | Who are these people, and what are they doing? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| August 13, 1995 | 126 | EVERYBODY'S TALKIN' | What are these people, etc., saying or thinking? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| August 20, 1995 | 127 | GADGET IF YOU CAN | Choose one or more of these devices and describe their use. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| January 28, 1996 | 150 | TRIAL BALLOONS | What are the people saying? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| June 16, 1996 | 170 | THE ELEMENTS OF SMILE | Why are these people smiling? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| October 6, 1996 | 186 | CALLING THE TOON | Who are these people? What are they doing? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| May 18, 1997 | 218 | CALLING THE TOON | Who are these people? What are they doing? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| June 29, 1997 | 224 | DRAWING CONCLUSIONS | What is wrong with these pictures? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| July 20, 1997 | 227 | WILD PITCHES | Come up worthy successors to Joe Camel. Name the product, and describe the totally inappropriate cartoon character that would be created to represent it. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| September 21, 1997 | 236 | CALLING THE TOON. | What is happening here? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| October 12, 1997 | 239 | NAME THAT TOON | Send us the captions for cartoons not provided. | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| November 30, 1997 | 246 | OUR OWN DEVICES | What do these contraptions do? Tell us in 50 words or fewer. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| April 26, 1998 | 267 | THE CONCEPT CONCEPT | Come up with a situation for a "People Unclear on the Concept" cartoon. Describe the situation and supply any necessary dialogue. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| May 31, 1998 | 272 | PICTURE THIS | What is happening in these cartoons? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| September 6, 1998 | 286 | CLINTOONS | Make your own Clintoon, a comic strip consisting of any or all of the provided drawings. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| September 20, 1998 | 288 | PICTURE THIS | What is happening in these pictures? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| November 8, 1998 | 295 | PANEL DISCUSSION | Supply the contents of the missing panel in the provided cartoon strips. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| December 20, 1998 | 301 | PICTURE THIS | What is happening in these cartoons? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| April 4, 1999 | 316 | CALLING THE TOON | What are these things? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| May 9, 1999 | 321 | INTERPRET THIS | Take any of the provided cartoons and come up with a matched pair of interpretations for what is happening. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| July 25, 1999 | 332 | AUTHORS IN SEARCH OF A CHARACTER | Come up with a three- or four-panel cartoon about any of the winning characters from Week 332. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| September 5, 1999 | Save the Style Invitational! | Write a three- or four-panel script for one of three strips for one of three strips:
| CAR | ||||
| April 16, 2000 | 345 (XII) | Picture This | What is going on in these cartoons? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| June 11, 2000 | 353 (XX) | Patently Silly | What do these devices do? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| August 13, 2000 | 362 (XXIX) | Something Missing | Tell us what is missing in each of the provided cartoons. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| October 22, 2000 | 372 (XXXIX) | Trial Balloons | Fill in the balloons. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| January 14, 2001 | 384 (LI) | What's Your Story? | Take at least four of the provided cartoons, arrange them in any sequence you wish, and make up a funny story that they would illustrate. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| March 11, 2001 | 392 (LIX) | Everyone's a Comic | Choose any panel of any comic strip in today's Washington Post and improve it by replacing the original speech and thought balloons with your own, | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| June 3, 2001 | 404 (LXXI) | Balloonacy | Create a comic strip of one to four panels. For your dialogue or thought balloons, you may choose from the provided menu. You may invent one line of your own. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| September 30, 2001 | 421 (LXXXVIII) | Picture This | These objects are not what they seem to be, at first glance. They are something else entirely. What are they? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| February 10, 2002 | 440 (CVII) | Picture This | What is going on in these cartoons? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| April 28, 2002 | 451 (CXVIII) | Make Your Pix | Which two of the provided cartoons are related, and how? | CAR DIF | Text file | Contest image | ||
| September 29, 2002 | 473 (CXL) | Offensive Line | Find what's offensive in any of the provided cartoons, and explain. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| December 1, 2002 | 482 (CXLIX) | Inspect Our Gadgets | What are these gadgets? What do they do? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| April 20, 2003 | 502 | Picture This | Who are these people? What are they doing? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| June 22, 2003 | 511 | It All Impends | Tell us what is something unusual about to happen in the provided cartoons. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| August 24, 2003 | 520 | I, Object | These items were ordered by well-known people. Who ordered them, and why? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| September 28, 2003 | 525 | It Won't Belong Now | Tell us which of three cartoons provided does not belong, and why. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| December 7, 2003 | 535 | Picture This | Can you tell us what astonishing news Bob Staake is trying to pass on with cartoons? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| April 11, 2004 | 553 | Picture This | Tell us what's going on in one or more of the provided cartoons. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| July 18, 2004 | 567 | A Running Gag | Explain how any of the provided bizarre cartoons by Bob Staake relates to the current presidential campaign. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| December 12, 2004 | 588 | Gadget If You Can | Tell us what these nifty, indispensable items are. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| February 27, 2005 | 599 | So What's the News? | Tell us what the illustrated events are. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| June 26, 2005 | 616 | Picture This, Kids | Supply title and one-sentence synopsis for Bob Staake new kids' project, incorporating any of the provided cartoons. | CAR | Text file | ||
| October 9, 2005 | 631 | Picture This | What's going on in any of these cartoons? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| January 22, 2006 | 646 | Warped Perspectives | Tell us how two different types of people, animals, organizations, etc., would interpret any of the provided cartoons. | CAR | Text file | ||
| May 21, 2006 | 663 | Worth at Least a Dozen Words | Interpret any of the provided cartoons as you see fit in a caption. | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| September 17, 2006 | 680 | Rendered Speechless | Provide dialogue to fill the balloons in any of these cartoons. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| February 11, 2007 | 701 | Untitlement | Here are the covers for what just might be Bob Staake's next four books. What are they called and what are they about? | CAR ART LIT | Text file | ||
| August 5, 2007 | 725 | Beggars For Description | Describe, without being boring, a cartoon to fit any of the provided captions. | CAR CAP | Text file | ||
| December 8, 2007 | 743 | Picture This | Write a caption for any of these Bob Staake cartoons. | CAR CAP | Text file | ||
| April 19, 2008 | 761 | Strip Mining | Supply the text for any or all three of these Bob Staake comic strips. | CAR | Text file | ||
| October 11, 2008 | 786 | Top of the Staake | So get your thoughts provoked for No. Umpteen of our cartoon caption contest. | CAR CAP | Text file | Contest image | ||
| May 30, 2009 | 819 | Art Re-View | These objects are not what they seem to be, at first glance. They are something else entirely. What are they? | CAR | Text file | Contest image | ||
| November 20, 2010 | 895 | Picture this | Supply a caption for any of these cartoons. | CAP CAR | Text file | ||
| March 6, 2011 | 909 | Reprizing | Suggest humorous uses for one or more of the items above, alone or in combination. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| April 17, 2011 | 915 | Picture this | Write a caption for any of the cartoons pictured here. | CAP CAR | Text file | ||
| August 26, 2012 | 985 | What art art thou? | Tell us which Style Invitational contest any of the provided Bob Staake cartoons might be illustrating. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Beverley Sharp | Text file | Contest image |
| February 24, 2013 | 1010 | Picture this | Write a caption for any of the five provided cartoons. | CAP CAR | Text file | Post e-version | ||
| August 25, 2013 | 1035 | The Empy 500 | Explain what news Bob Staake is trying to tell in any of the provided drawings. | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| February 16, 2014 | 1060 | Picture this | Write a caption, or captions, for one or more of the provided cartoons. | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| November 2, 2014 | 1096 | Picture this | Write a humorous caption for any of the provided Bob Staake cartoons. (Conversational text) | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| May 31, 2015 | 1126 | Picture this | Provide a humorous caption for any of the cartoons provided. (Conversational text) | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| January 17, 2016 | 1158 | What have we here? | Tell us what one or more of these objects really are. (Conversational text) | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| October 16, 2016 | 1197 | Picture This -- It's a Bob Staake caption contest | Write a caption for any of the cartoons provided. (Conversational text) | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| June 18, 2017 | 1232 | Picture this -- a caption contest | Write a caption for one or more of the provided cartoons. (Conversational text) | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| December 3, 2017 | 1256 | Picture this -- a caption contest | Provide a funny caption for any of the provided cartoons. (Conversational text) | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| June 3, 2018 | 1282 | Picture This | Write a caption for one or more of the provided pictures. (Conversational text) | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| June 30, 2019 | 1338 | Picture This -- cartoon captions | Supply a caption for one or more of the provided cartoons. | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| July 12, 2020 | 1392 | Picture this -- caption these cartoons | Write a caption, either descriptive or in dialogue, for any of the provided Bob Staake cartoons. (Conversational text) | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| August 16, 2020 | 1397 | Trope springs eternal | Use any of the four provided standard settings -- (a) desert island, (b) bartender at a bar, (c) desert, (d) psychiatrist next to a couch -- and describe a cartoon that includes your choice of characters, along with a caption. (Conversational text) | CAR CAP | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| February 28, 2021 | 1425 | Picture this -- a caption contest | Write a caption, either descriptive or in dialogue, for any of the provided cartoons. (Conversational text) | CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| November 28, 2021 | 1464 | Picture this -- a caption contest | Write a caption, either descriptive or in dialogue, for any of the provided cartoons. | CAP CAR | Text file | Contest image | Post e-version | ||
| YEAR 31 BEGINS | |||||||