Issue date: 10/2/03 Section: A & E

Media Credit: Cecelia Francisco The Tonybee tile paver makes “appearances” throughout the world. This particular tile can be found at 4th and South Street in Philadelphia.

"Toynbee ideas in Kubrick's 2001 resurrect dead on planet Jupiter." Since 1994, if you've ever walked downtown on South Street, Walnut or even Broad Street, you may have passed some of these mysterious tiles in the cross walks without so much as a second thought.

Considering all of the 'art' that gets placed around the city, it is no wonder people can pass by such things and not stop to read a tile such as the 'Toynbee Idea' tiles. But what do they mean?

There are many different theories as to the meanings of the Toynbee Tiles. If one dissects the words, it is possible to form at least some little aspect of what they stand for. For example; Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) was an English Historian most noted for his 12-volume series, "A Study of History," which has had great influence on modern mind-sets regarding religion, history and international affairs. Also, Arthur C. Clarke, writer of the "2001: A Space Odyssey" series, gives clues to the tile's meaning.

In the fourth book of the series, "3001: The Final Odyssey," an astronaut named Frank Poole, who was killed in the first book of the series, is resurrected. Considering the first book (and movie) has to do with traveling to Jupiter and one of its moons, Europa, seems to suggest that this may have something to do with the meaning behind the "resurrect dead on Jupiter," part of the Toynbee tile.

Also, some tiles have an additional tile and statement at the bottom of them saying: "You must make + clue tiles !! You !! As media U.S.S.R." This also may have ties to the Odyssey series. In the second book of the series (which was also made into a movie), "2010: Odyssey Two," a Soviet space flight is sent with three Americans on board, to Jupiter to discover what happened to the ship in 2001.

Putting together the possible meanings of the tiles is an almost impossible task, since no one knows who made them, or if there are multiple makers of the tiles. If anyone does know, however they certainly are not telling.

The tiles pop up across the country, as far north as Boston, MA, as far south as Washington D.C., and as far west as Kansa City, MO. The predominant concentration of tiles show up in Philadelphia, and New York City, suggesting that the maker lives somewhere around either city, and has the means to effectively travel to place the tiles. While it is cheap enough to travel by car, bus or train in this country, over seas travel suggests that the Toynbee Tile maker is trying to give everyone a message, including people in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Santiago, Chile, all in South America.

Not all of the tiles say the same thing. For example; instead of "in Kubrick's 2001," some say "in movie 2001." Some have different color styling compared to others. Some are just plain white with black lettering, some are white with blue and red writing.

Bill O'Niell seems to be the guru of the Toynbee tile paver. Hissite, http://www.toynbee.net is the largest site involving the tiles.

Will we ever unravel the almost 10-year-old mystery of the Toynbee tiles? Is this just a way of catching people's atten

Posted to the web by: Cecelia Francisco

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools