Toynbee Tiles Mystery

[The General]

These mysterious tiles with cryptic messages about resurrecting the dead and the planet Jupiter have appeared all over Philadelphia since the early 80's.  Further investigation revealed that they have also appeared in many other US cities, including Washington DC, Pittsburgh, New York City, Baltimore, Boston, and more, all throughout the Northeast.  Amazingly, they also have shown up in South America; in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.  Somehow, someone is managing to embed hundreds of these tiles throughout North and South America onto busy public roads without being spotted.

The message is bizarre, usually containing the following message or a variation of it...

"Toynbee idea
in movie 2001
resurrect dead
on planet Jupiter"

Anybody ever heard of or seen these tiles?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toynbee_tiles
http://www.damninteresting.com/the-mysterious-toynbee-tiles/

[ItsOver]

Never heard of them.  Strange enough to be interesting.  Sounds like something Art could have spun an interesting C2C show about.   With Noory?  It would be less interesting than visiting the tile section of Home Depot.

[The General]

a documentary was made about it...


Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles (2011) - Official Trailer [HD]


Resurrect Dead The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles Trailer

[Evil Twin Of Zen]

You may be hearing more from Morasco. And then again, you may not.

will have a copy of the documentary in about 10 min or less. will view later. the enemy is everyone.... 

[Eddie Coyle]

            I think the Smiley Face Killers are up to their old tricks. And Kilroy is helping. Crop circle bastards.

[Mel(apostrophe)s Hole]

I watched Resurrect Dead about a month ago. The subject matter was fascinating. In the end, though, didn't really enjoy it. Focus was pulled away from tiles too often for my liking. Would be interested in hearing your opinion after you watch it.

[Evil Twin Of Zen]

A mystery solved after such a long period of time. The film was put together very well and provided several wonders of sharing moments of discovery with the cast.
I suspect that this pulling away from focus on the subject may refer to how the direction moved  to the filmmakers/investigators at a few points during the film. This is a style often used when those filming a documentary are or have become an integral part of the subject. This will often include backgrounds and what brought them to this point of the story.
While viewing the film, I was doing continual searches and quick studies of the subject at hand. Such as Arnold Toynbee, the Minority Association, etc.
The documentary was indeed fascinating. 

[ziznak]

I love these things and the whole lil story behind them... I've seen a bunch of the ones here in Philly.

[The General]

I watched the documentary today as well, and found it fascinating and well done.  While they likely have solved the riddle of who is behind the tiles, the answer still leaves one with a sense of the story being unresolved, but in a strangely satisfactory way. 

I wish the filmmakers could have interviewed this mystery person, but someone like that would never and can never be interviewed.  It's still somewhat of a mystery, and the tile maker's message, the message of science triumphing over heaven through reincarnation is bizarre.  It's something that the tile maker felt strongly enough about to devote his life to trying to spread the message in a strange and elusive way.  It took a lot of detective work to put all the pieces together.  These filmmakers were obviously obsessed with the subject, and for a long time.

[ziznak]

Local radio hosts preston and steve here in philly did an interview with the guys that made that movie last year.  I was working downtown at the time and on that very same day that I heard the interview I walked over a Toynbee tile on the way home... I haven't watched the documentary but it's just gotten a bump up my list.

[Sardondi]

            I think the Smiley Face Killers are up to their old tricks. And Kilroy is helping. Crop circle bastards.

Okay, I confess: I found the Smiley Face Killer shows with Ian some of the most  fascinating shows ever. Not that any of the promised additional info ever followed. I guess that back then I could still willingly suspend disbelief a little while for a C2C show.

Oh, sorry about the thread jack, General. I've seen news about the tiles for several years and they make my skin tingle. What is the earliest known sightiing?

[SnoopDawgg]

RESURRECT DEAD was awesome, a real treat for anybody who's been fascinated by the Toynbee Tiles.

I was particularly impressed by the dedication those kids gave to their investigation. Looked at from a certain perspective, it kinda represented the best of humanity. Strangers coming together to pool their resources and problem-solve creatively to solve a mystery, following the data honestly to wherever it led.

Also the story of the kid with the tattoo on his skull (Justin?) was particularly compelling. He mentioned being tortured in high school then living in a "squat", which I assume means an abandoned building that homeless people live in. That would have broken some people, but for Justin it just seemed to make him a more interesting person.   

Best of luck to those guys.

[Mel(apostrophe)s Hole]

Yes, I thought the tiles and mystery of the maker fascinating enough to carry the film. The second storyline was unnecessary for me. I'm a big fan of the Maysles brothers’ style of filmmaking though.

[The General]

Yes, I thought the tiles and mystery of the maker fascinating enough to carry the film. The second storyline was unnecessary for me. I'm a big fan of the Maysles brothers’ style of filmmaking though.

The second story line made the documentary more interesting, because the life parallels between the documentary maker and the tile maker were a remarkable coincidence.  I felt the same way until the later part of the video.

[Mel(apostrophe)s Hole]

It felt more like the filmmakers were trying to shoehorn that connection, so it wasn't a compelling element for me.

Regardless, they really deserve a lot of credit for seeing the project through to completion. It's a tremendous accomplishment to make a feature length, independent film. They did a great job.

[ziznak]

Great documentary... it's going in my "will watch again in 6 months" list.

[McPhallus]

I wish the filmmakers could have interviewed this mystery person, but someone like that would never and can never be interviewed.  It's still somewhat of a mystery, and the tile maker's message, the message of science triumphing over heaven through reincarnation is bizarre.  It's something that the tile maker felt strongly enough about to devote his life to trying to spread the message in a strange and elusive way.  It took a lot of detective work to put all the pieces together.  These filmmakers were obviously obsessed with the subject, and for a long time.

They give the creator (and themselves) an air of nobility by allowing him to remain in the shadows.  If he were to be fully revealed, he's almost certainly a paranoid schizophrenic, albeit a creative and non-dangerous one.  The attention he'd get would just validate his paranoia.

[The General]

They give the creator (and themselves) an air of nobility by allowing him to remain in the shadows.  If he were to be fully revealed, he's almost certainly a paranoid schizophrenic, albeit a creative and non-dangerous one.  The attention he'd get would just validate his paranoia.

I agree, I guess, but they didn't leave him anonymous.  They say his full name, and the city he lives in, and show you easily how to get his address.  So, they weren't completely noble in that sense.  But I hear ya.

[ziznak]

I agree, I guess, but they didn't leave him anonymous.  They say his full name, and the city he lives in, and show you easily how to get his address.  So, they weren't completely noble in that sense.  But I hear ya.

As crazy as he might be I really wanted to see the guy.