Topic: Documentary About The Toynbee Tiles Coming.

[ozgeorge]

From both a psychological point of view and an interest in unusual art media, I've long been interested in the "Toynbee Tile" phenomenon, in particular, with the original tiler, who, for many years (perhaps as many as 10), glued tiles with a bizarre, paranoid message on roads across North and South America.
A friend let me know today that a guy called Justin Duerr is in the process of making a documentary about the Toynbee Tiles and has released a preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jYsBlOYd9g
Has anyone here seen a Toynbee Tile in real life?

[Αριστοκλής]

Sorry, never heard of him/them.

[Entscheidungsproblem]

Sorry, never heard of him/them.

http://www.toynbee.info/

I've seen a copycat one in Philly, never a real one though.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I've never seen one either, but from what I've read, it seems like they were put there by an old kook in Philadelphia with nothing better to do. Any tiles, I'd guess, outside of Philly are probably copies--though who would have the time or would care enough to bother is beyond me.

[Asteriktos]

Sure, I saw one in a field, it was... oh wait... that was the last such phenomenon, crop circles. Sorry, haven't seen this one yet.

[PeterTheAleut]

Okay.  I've seen the video.  WHATEVER!

[ozgeorge]

Don't you guys find it fascinating?
To me, what's interesting is:

1) The innovative technique the tiler used, placing his (he identifies as male in one tile) messages in cut linoleum, wrapping it in tar paper, and gluing it to the road so that the constant pressure of the car tyres fixes the tile to the road and wears away the tar paper to reveal the message.

2) That the tiler spent possibly as many as two decades repeating the same bizarre message. I've heard of being fixated on something, but that is ridiculous!

3) That the tiler should be fixated on a message as bizarre as: "TOYNBEE IDEAS IN KUBRICKS 2001 RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET JUPITER". Why? Why was this very "out there" sentence so vital to this man's identity that he would repeat it over and over again and attempt to immortalize it in a permanent form?

4) That this sentence possibly means something to only one person on the face of the Earth- the tiler himself.

[Asteriktos]

Well, George, I can respect your fascination with the issue. One of those strange things in life that you try to wrap your mind around. Maybe I have too many of my own obsessions to have my interest hooked by the mysterious obsessions of others, I dunno. I can see how it'd be interesting, though. 

[Órëlaurëa]

How interesting. . . I had somehow missed hearing about this.