Mystery Tiles From Around the World 466
puppetman writes "The Kansas City Star has an interesting story about Toynbee Tiles.
They show up embedded in streets, and can be found in the US (Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Aberdeen, Edgewood, Washington, etc), Chile, Argentina and Brazil. They are made of "epoxy or super hard plastic that's actually inlaid in the asphalt itself."
The tiles invariably state, "Toynbee Ideas in Kubrick's 2001 Resurrect Dead On Planet Jupiter".
Sometimes there are secondary tiles that request people make more while others are of a more paranoid slant.
Toynbee was a religious historian who believed that "well-being of a civilization depends on its ability to respond successfully to challenges, human and environmental". There is even a Ray Bradbury book, The Toynbee Convector.
Toynbee.net has a link to a Usenet posting where someone ask's Kubrick's daughter if the man himself knew of the tiles.
To date, the origin of the tiles are a mystery. Any /.'ers able to provide the location of additional tiles, or perhaps clues for solving the mystery?"
Would everyone who wants to claim responsibility.. (Score:5, Funny)
I'll clear up the mystery (Score:3, Funny)
googling reveals more interesting leads... (Score:5, Informative)
google turns up a funeral home [gy.com] in philadelphia called "verna sevrino funeral home", hmmm what might a funeral home have to do with resurrecting people on mars?
more googling turns up philadelphia councilwoman Anna C. Verna [phila.gov], who is married to " husband, Severino Verna, a funeral director, were born and raised in South Philadelphia.".
And finally, everything you ever wanted to know about Anna C Verna is here [hallwatch.org] I, for one, welcome our new neptune resurrectionist overlord.
Interesting. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Interesting. (Score:5, Interesting)
Geocache [geocaching.com]
Re:Interesting. (Score:4, Funny)
World: There are weird tiles!
Slashdot: We need coordinates for our GPS!
Why can't we light candles or leave flowers or something normal people would do?
Re:Interesting. (Score:3, Funny)
You've already answered your own question. The key phrase of interest is, "normal people" which excludes everybody on this godforsaken website.
Re:Interesting. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Interesting. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Interesting. (Score:3, Funny)
I'll help ya. There's one on I-95 Northbound by slummaville. Just walk out onto the passing lane and see for yourself!
Oh, this tile was done in glow-in-the dark paint, so you are better off looking at it at night.
Also, it's against the law to be walking on a highway, so you might want to wear something dark so that the state troopers don't catch you snooping around on the highway.
Have fun!
Re:Interesting. (Score:3, Funny)
Right... For example the challenge of handling slashdotters on Toynbee.net [toynbee.net]? ;)
Geocaching link from article (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Interesting. (Score:2, Informative)
I prefer (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I prefer penrose (Score:5, Funny)
My guess? (Score:4, Funny)
Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:5, Funny)
Seriously, thinking about 2001 depresses me. When I was a kid I had every expectation we'd be flying around in Pan Am Space Shuttles and learning how to use zero-g toilets.
Instead we live in a world where Pan Am goes bankrupt, and NYC still hasn't figured out how to install restrooms in the city.
These tiles are nothing more than a cruel reminder of just how lame the 21st century is turning out to be.
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:5, Funny)
These tiles are nothing more than a cruel reminder of just how lame the 21st century is turning out to be.
Don't worry - you'll miss most of it.
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:3, Funny)
I think that if you have to explain a joke then it's effect is somewhat lost
It did bring to mind the line (not sure who it's attributable to) about two ladies dining in a restaurant. One says 'The food in here is terrible', the other replies 'Yes, and such small portions.'
Thats ok. (Score:3, Funny)
He can keep the psycho-killer computers. I have enough problems when they "seg fault".
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:5, Funny)
I dunno, that yellow line that shows the first down marker on football games is pretty cool, and phrases like "don't touch that dial" have become a quaint anachronism. Sure, we're still driving gas-guzzling behemoths and cell phone coverage is spotty at best, but progress is being made.
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:5, Insightful)
I can't believe that we're all still living, to paraphrase Douglas Adams, on "an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think [touch-tone phones] are a pretty neat idea."
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:4, Insightful)
don't forget, we are only 3 and a bit years into the 21st century and already we have private astronauts (ok, for a few mill - but its a start!)
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:3, Informative)
However, the guy may be saying there is something in the adaptation, not present in the original, which is what his tiles refer to?
Adiitionally, 2001 the movie and book were created simultaniously, as a collaboration. They are however both based on Clarke's earlier work, "The Sentinel"
Due to some artistic differences, they took their names off the other media, and it is now a common mis
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:3, Informative)
Yes, and this explains the many small inconsistencies you'll find between the two.
The largest inconsistency between the movie and the book is the destination of the voyage. In the book, the voyage is to Saturn, but in the movie this voyage is to Jupiter.
The reason for the change? Kubrick could not afford the cost of all the artists rendering Saturn
Re:Kubrick promised us the Monolith... (Score:3, Insightful)
That's the problem... this is a movie that demands to be seen in a cinema. Don't lessen it by watching it on a small screen.
If you have a repertory cinema nearby, catch it the next time around.
or the endless psychedelic sequence.
Mind blowing man! It was revolutionary in 1968; it was the in thing to drop acid and sit in the front row to see that, though I was a little young for that; I was 10 at the time and made a
I've seen some of those (Score:5, Interesting)
This suggests it's the old guy (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:This suggests it's the old guy (Score:3, Interesting)
Plus they said this probably required heavy equipment. I can't see some guy in his 70's out in the middle of the night(Old people don't stay up late) lugging equipment around.
The clue which points to him certainly is the best starting place, but I'm guessing its some other wacko who heard what he said and decided to make hi
Re:This suggests it's the old guy (Score:4, Informative)
Re:This suggests it's the old guy (Score:3, Funny)
She's a government agent hired to intercept the phone calls and give out the wrong information. The "guy" is really only 30 years old now. Of course, he's the last remnant of the people from Mars, who all died and moved to summer houses on Jupiter (or Saturn, if you like books).
Re:This suggests it's the old guy (Score:3, Interesting)
'In the Philadelphia telephone directory, only one James Morasco is listed in the entire city. I called his number, and an elderly woman answered the phone.
May I talk to Mr. Morasco?
"He can't talk," the woman said. "He has problems with his throat."
What kind of problems?
"He had his voice box removed," she
Google cache of text (Score:5, Informative)
Google Cache [216.239.37.104]
not worried ... (Score:2, Funny)
[OT]: Re:not worried ... (Score:2)
Already (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Already (Score:3, Funny)
My God! Could this mean people are actually taking the time to read the article?
Re:Already (Score:2)
Of course, the intersection between the set of people who read the article, and the set of people who post regularly is about 18
These media(?) hacks are getting out of hand (Score:3, Insightful)
Szo
Re:These media(?) hacks are getting out of hand (Score:2)
He's already here! (Score:5, Funny)
a big AAAAAHHHHHH (Score:5, Interesting)
i honestly could not tell you where they are, but after seeing the picture it came back. i don't remember what the local ones say but the style of text in the same and the size of the tiles and whatnot.
for people in Philly, i am 99% sure there is one in a crosswalk on South street maybe around 4th and south? i guess when the
Re:a big AAAAAHHHHHH (Score:5, Funny)
That's cold, man. Cold.
Are the tiles 1 by 4 by 9? (Score:2, Funny)
Toynbee Tiles violate DMCA (Score:4, Funny)
Here's one! (Score:4, Informative)
For now, geocache away, Toynbee followers!
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_
For a message board on this topic, go here (http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/3790/geoboo
Dammit! (Score:2)
Without a thought! And yet the world calls me weird!
Fine, I want to try being normal. Will someone please send me one of these tiles so I can put one on the streets of Sandpoint. Then ma
Re:Dammit! (Score:3, Funny)
The amazing thing here is that this "graffiti for old white guys" is accepted and ignored by society. Millions of people every day pass these tiles without any thought to them.
Yet if I suggest something that has some logic behind it like creating a 51st state out of north Idaho, eastern Washingon and western Montana, people say I'm some sort of freak.
I could embed tiles in streets and go unnoticed. Yet if I speak my mind I'm labeled.
Re:Dammit! (Score:3, Funny)
Are We Really, Really Sure We're "Seeing" Tiles? (Score:3, Funny)
Interestingly, I just saw one on Saturday. (Score:2, Informative)
I have seen many of these! Spooky! (Score:5, Funny)
I've seen a large number of these mysterious tiles. They too have strange writing on them, which sometimes makes lewd suggestions or tells offensive jokes. I have always wondered how that writing was created on all those tiles. I've usually noticed these mystery tiles in restrooms stalls at schools, offices, and even airports in many major cities around the world! It's good to know people are starting to investigate the matter.
It's a small world (Score:4, Insightful)
And from the article: "in at least 20 cities around the United States (and two in South America!)"
It kind of reminds me of the times when Europe was the known world.
Tell me more (Score:4, Funny)
Journalist != Scientist (Score:2)
But if the late James Morasco was the tile maker he went to his grave with his secret and is now presumably on the planet Jupiter getting a tan.
So the crushing, pulping pressures of metallic hydrogen gives one a nice tan, eh?
Quoting the article (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, as if a person insane enough to put prophecy tiles into asphalt would drop the idea due to risk of being alone in a downtown environment.
Re:Quoting the article (Score:3, Funny)
That's why most men, as well as women, choose to avoid it.
Obviously reason dictates the tiles are installed by crack hos.
KFG
Reporters Dig Their Own Grave (Score:2)
Besides, it is a great movie.
Re:Reporters Dig Their Own Grave (Score:2)
It's just that the first 20 minutes are mind numbingly boring, unless you like watching a bunch of people jumping around in ape suits.
I think that this was an expertly written article. I also think that it's perfectly okay that he couldn't sit through all of 2001. I couldn't. Sorry; I just think the opening scene is borrrring.
He also is probably young. For someone raised on the special effects of the eighties and nineties, the special effects in 2001 aren't
Does anybody know of similar things? (Score:4, Interesting)
There were times when I thought of charting them and trying to find out who the guy is (yes, I had nothing much to do), but I reminded myself of what can happen when one goes overboard with those things [paulauster.co.uk] and thought better of it
A crackpot, sure, but one with a hell of a determination
Hamburg OZ (Score:3, Interesting)
He was first known for spraying smileys [pkazil.free.fr] everywhere - road signs, car wheels, everywhere he could find something round. It was cute at first, but he sprayed everywhere. He later started spraying his "oz" tag and there is virtually no public space without his tag all over
"This could be a place of historical importance" (Score:5, Interesting)
Seeing this story finally inspired me to Google this phrase, and it turns out to have been the work of one Braco Dimitrijevic, and apparently other similar slabs can be found around St Martin's College in London.
Obviously no Kubrick reference, so not so geeky, but still a pretty cool bit of public-space art.
a link between (Score:5, Interesting)
Submit. Obey.
Could this be an attempt to link into the Obey [obeygiant.com] phenomenon? Sure, the tiles started in the 80's, but perhaps a new breed of social engineers are trying to plug us into the idea of examining our surroundings?
Or maybe some folks think that graffetti doesn't have to be a bad spray job that says "dave love's jessica" or "metallica rules!"
Re:a link between (Score:3, Informative)
Anyway I seriously doubt these two phenomena are related, Shepard Fairey promoted and commercialized the Obey line, whereas thi
Re:a link between (Score:3, Interesting)
Downtown St. Louis (Score:5, Interesting)
Downtown Detroit (Score:3, Informative)
I walk by one everyday! (Score:5, Informative)
Creepy.
In Chicago (Score:5, Informative)
Most salient quote... (Score:3, Insightful)
It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful made and crushingly boring movies of all time.
Somewhat on the mark, but methinks he didn't rent Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" which is actually, without a doubt, the most beautiful made and crushingly boring movies of all time.
Re:Most salient quote... (Score:3, Interesting)
Whenever I have an upscale party, I toss Barry Lyndon in the DVD player, randomly skip around for a bit and hit pause. I have a beautiful, suitable-for-framing image I can display on my TV!
It's a running joke that you can pause Barry Lyndon at any random place and have an image that looks like it should be in a museaum. I've y
Other References (Score:3, Interesting)
The "Submit. Obey." reminded me of John Carpenter's They Live [imdb.com].
A simple explanation (Score:3, Funny)
2) ??
3) Profit!!
thang (Score:5, Informative)
funny thing: most of the sites that are linked to from this page seem to have ... dissapeared.
http://www.metafilter.com/comments.mefi/15831 [metafilter.com]
Welcome (Score:3, Funny)
TechTV spot w/ the "foremost expert" on it (Score:5, Informative)
TechTV did a thing on it about a month ago... [techtv.com]
Toynbee Mystery
Mysterious plaques with a prophetic message have been appearing all along the Eastern seaboard. Tonight, Bill O'Neill, the foremost expert in this phenomenon, joins us via netcam from Atlanta to talk about who or what is leaving these plaques and shed some light on their meaning. The plaques read:
"Toynbee Ideas
In Kubrick's 2001
Ressurect Dead
On Planet Jupiter"
Other article (Score:5, Informative)
It has a picture of a much larger tile with some sort of manifesto written in it, next to the standard Toynbee tile. (This picture is also visible from the picture gallery for the original article.)
an image here... (Score:5, Informative)
Toynbee Tile here [availabledark.com]
space invaders (Score:5, Informative)
you can check it out here [space-invaders.com]. for fellow londoners who are interested...i, personally, have seen two in london. one on brick lane outside vibe bar and one in the notting hill area on some bridge that the carnival goes over - dunno which one, i live in the seeouthhhhh.
Great. Polycarbonate graffitti. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Great. Polycarbonate graffitti. (Score:3, Interesting)
Vandalism, art, spaghetti. It's all the same -- it's an expression. Just because you don't "get it" does not mean it's not valid. It portrays the "artist's" feelings, which is what art is all about.
Thorough journalism(?) (Score:3, Informative)
Did this scentence strike anybody else as odd?
Though Toynbee and Kubrick were both brilliant British visionaries...
Hmmm. Talk about thorough journalism...Stanley Kubrick was born in The Bronx, New York City.
Arthur C. Clarke!!!! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Arthur C. Clarke!!!! (Score:4, Interesting)
Now what would be cool... (Score:3, Funny)
How the tiles are made and baked into the street (Score:4, Insightful)
As for how they're baked into the street, this is simple also. You'll notice most of the Toynbee Tiles are placed in busy inner city intersections with plenty traffic. In [U.S.] cities streets are often fixed with small patches of asphalt covering just the worst cracks and potholes. Who notices a new black patch on the road? Well, the Toynbee feller knows nobody does.
So his secret is this. He carves the tiles, then wraps them neatly in a parcel of layers of tar paper and wood glue with the tile at the very bottom. This slim dark parcel can be fairly inconspicously placed on the street in the dark of night. It'll resemble just another patch of road repair.
It's important that the parcel be placed about as far from the curb so as to get run over by the street traffic as often as possible, because the 'baking' process is actually just the combination of pressure and weather over a period of a couple of weeks where the combined forces of pressure, weather and sun erodes the paper until just some of the tar remains, which is forced into the street and around the spaces between the tile letters, which are gradually revealed as the tar above wears away. The finished impression a couple of weeks later is that just the letters themselves remains, forced thoroughly into the street.
The tile by itself would have cracked and never survived if it had been just left there on the surface. The tar paper sandwich is quite ingenious and simple to make, though it probably takes a few tries to get the formula just right.
How Tiles are Made (Score:5, Informative)
Date: Wed, 03 May 2000 17:36:37 -0400
Subject: Toynbee Mystrey Solved!...(almost.)
Hello, my name is Justin K*H* and I am sending you this to let you know of my research into the "Toynbee Idea" phenomenon. I have been obsessively photographing & documenting these tiles since around 1992-'93, when I first started noticing them. I have a very extensive collection of photographs, but this is not my reason for contacting you. My reason in sending this E mail is to let you know that I have figured out EXACTLY how these tiles are "made & glued". You see, sometime this past winter I left my house on a mission to my lacal convinience store for a late Sunday night snack (about 4:00 A.M.,so perhaps "early morning snack would be more appropriate wording.) On my way back to the house I noticed a black mound in the street which had made it's appearance there sometime in the 10 minute period that I was in the store. Upon closer inspection I discovered it to be a mound of tar paper, intermingled with what appeared to be wood glue. Being the inquisitive soul that I am, I lifted the top layer to see what may lay underneath----a "TOYNBEE IDEA" TILE!!!!!( This was discovered at 12th. & Race ST. in Philadelphia, if you want to add it to your sightings list.) Needless to say, I examined the tile for quite a while, my heart racing all the while, knowing that I had missed catching the "mad tiler" by only a matter of minutes. Here are my findings - The tiles are indeed that - tiles. If you heat a standard floor tile it will rubberize and become as easy to cut as butter. But when it hardens it will not be able to withstand the pressure afforded it by car tires as it will be too brittle (I have tried making my own tiles, as you can infer.) However this tile was some kind with a higher rubber content than a standard floor tile, and therefore able to absorb greater weight and shock. It's inlayed letters were of a slightly less malleable substance, but were held in place neatly, even if they were to crack, by the white tile which surrounded them. All of this intricate stencil-esque tile work appeared to have been done with an X-acto knife or razor blade, judging by the angle of the cuts and my own failed attempts with cutting letters into standard floor tiles. The tile was sandwiched between thick layers of intricately folded and glued together tar paper. The effects of the weather(the paper decays, but the tar remains behind as an anchor to affix the tile to the street) and passing cars(they serve as the force which squashes the tile into - literally INTO - the street. Over the course of the next few days I took a series of detailed photos which display the entire process visually. I hope my explanation of all of this is understandable, and I apologize for typos ( I am in a rush. ) Anyways, I hope this gives you some sense of satisfaction as to at least HOW these "plaques" are made.
P.S. I checked out that Philly adress from the Rio tile - no luck, although I did find a SLEW of Toynbee tiles in the surrounding South Philly neighborhood. (Rather unusual for the tiles to be seen in such a residential neighborhood!) 9th. & Shunk St. is the only specific one I can think of off the top of my head. There are three tiles there which have to be seen to be believed. O.K......Put up my sightings & mention my findings! Thank You, Justin K*H*
Re:GPS coordinates (Score:3, Informative)
Re:GPS coordinates (Score:3, Funny)
Troc
Spookily enough... (Score:2, Informative)
John Knight Ridder is the Philadelphia thug (?) hellion Jew XXXXX Hated this movements guts- for years- takes money from the Mafia to make the Mafia look good in his newspapers so he has the Mafia in his back pocket. John Knight sent the Mafia to murder me in May 1991 XXXXXXXXXX journalists XX then gloated to my face about death and Knight Ridder great power to destroy. In fact John Knight went into hellion since of joy over Knight-Ridder
Re:Que the music (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Que the music (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Harder than asphalt (Score:4, Informative)
So, the fact that the tiles are also harder than the asphalt is about as shocking as the tiles themselves.
Re:Harder than asphalt (Score:3, Informative)
Depending on how hot it was, the asphalt could get pretty soft.
Yes, just ask anyone who has come back to their motorbike on a hot day to see the sidestand 3 inches deep in asphalt. :-(
Re:Sounds like the Kilroy Was Here people... (Score:2, Informative)
These tiles are supposedly the work of the same person/group as they're all the same composition and tarred to the road in the sa
Re:Similiar Flyers (Score:2)
Five years? They have been floating around since around 1995. A fellow named Shepard Fairey started it amongst some skateboarders and it took hold. Now, he refers to it as "an experiment in Phenomenology [obeygiant.com]
Re:interesting note from local paper (Score:2)
Re:interesting note from local paper (Score:3, Informative)
"The Persian religion was founded by a legendary sage named Zarathustra, who had taught that there was a supreme god, the wise lord Ahuramazda, who was opposed by the forces of evil, which were under command of Angra Mainyu. (Since only Ahuramazda was to be venerated, the exiled Jews in Babylonia considered Cyrus a monotheist lik