Direct Detection of Dark Matter is (Still) Just Around the Corner

One can point to a variety of astrophysical evidence for gravitational interactions of the non-baryonic dark matter which is hypothesized to account for about 1/4 of the contents of the universe. But we have no concrete evidence for any other type of interaction. The past two decades (of time) have seen over five decades of improvement in the sensitivity of searches for an erstwhile incredibly popular candidate, the WIMP. The resulting exclusion limits on particle mass and cross section offer some of our best clues as to the nature of the dark matter --  or at least, as to what it is not. I will discuss the technology behind these searches, offer explanation for several formerly contentious but presently largely-excluded claims of detection, and provide a glimpse of what to expect from future searches.