Slashdot Mirror
Mystery Tiles From Around the World
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?"
...for a nice, orderly queue under this posting, so we can avoid cluttering the main topic.
Penrose tiles. Much tastier, and less fattening.
In a few weeks they'll all light up and you'll realize they form concentric circles around a just-constructed used car joint.
...and all we get are these lousy tiles.
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.
Is this truly the only Earth I can live on?
AaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAA...
That always creeped me out.
What post? The one you're carrying inside your rusty innards!
Yes, just ask the Scientologists. :)
Troc
Troc's dubious podcast and blog: http://www.trocnet.net
... as long as these tiles don't contain the phrase "12 monkeys", that is.
They gotta be....
Ad luna, Alicia! Ad luna!
Yes, it's true, any persons caught trying to decipher the mystery of the Toynbee Tiles will be prosecuted under the DMCA. Listen, just because you can go out into public and read these mysterious tiles does not mean that you have the mysterious right to try and mysteriously figure out where they mysteriously came from. That is the exclusive mysterious right of the mysterious man/woman in [insert color here] who placed these in the first not-so-mysterious place to begin with.
IGB: More fun than eating oatmeal!
My God! Could this mean people are actually taking the time to read the article?
Trouble making decisions? Just flip for it.
They didn't burn their way up to the surface again? Must have been a bad batch.
Maybe it's just ultrasound coming up from the sewers?
He can keep the psycho-killer computers. I have enough problems when they "seg fault".
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
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.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
1) Embed Toynbee tiles in streets around the world
2) ??
3) Profit!!
but aren't they the most filling of all tiles?
My downtown area is full of women at night, looking for a "date."
That's why most men, as well as women, choose to avoid it.
Obviously reason dictates the tiles are installed by crack hos.
KFG
of rhis 'Europe', it intriges me.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
It was me.
I, for one, welcome this subtle form of mind control from our as-yet undiscovered overlords.
No! See, you just don't get it at all.
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.
. Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
>How many other times has the green light of the crosswalk
>or ringing of the phone diverted your attention and caused you to miss a brilliant adventure?
Ah, but you're ready to fly now. Just have to throw yourself at the ground when your attention is diverted!
Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
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?
When the antichrist arrives, we wont even belive, because everyone will think it's a hoax :)
Well, the fact that the antichrist chose the form of a 12-year-old boy in one of those plastic molded dracula Halloween costumes didn't help anything. Would you believe some kid running around going "Bleh! Bleh! I'm dracula, er, I mean I'm the antichrist! Bow down before me!"
Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
shutup freak
Wow. You just slashedotted someone's house.
That's cold, man. Cold.
-I like my women like I like my tea: green-
And he requested another 87 billion on TV last night!
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
You are right in many cases. E.g., "23". Numbers are everywhere, and if you start to single out one, you start to see it. In my case, or in the "mystery tile" case, your comment does not apply. It's not as if the types of tiles are everywhere, and you start to see them. They are actually put there. Same with latin translations in pencil of everyday stuff.
"When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
... would be to find a way to covertly plant one of these on Mars, for some unmanned (manned?) explorer to find. That'll mess with their heads
Two Rules For Success:
1) Never tell people everything you know.
> The woman that answered his phone said that he's dead and gave his age. That doesn't mean it's true.
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).
Right... For example the challenge of handling slashdotters on Toynbee.net? ;)
Why can't we light candles or leave flowers or something normal people would do?
You've already answered your own question. The key phrase of interest is, "normal people" which excludes everybody on this godforsaken website.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
I'm going to find one in Boston and setup a cache.
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!