Frequently Asked Questions
For those unfamiliar with the Toynbee tiles 

Q: What are the Toynbee tiles?
A: They are graffiti, guerrilla art, outsider art, and an unsolved mystery wrapped into a single cryptic phenomenon. They are four-lined message plaques found in the asphalt of numerous major US (and, in four cases, South American) city roads. Their message reads, "TOYNBEE IDEA, IN Kubrick's 2001, RESURRECT DEAD, ON PLANET JUPITER" with occasional variations and frequent additional texts.

Q: What do the tiles mean?
A: Prior to our research, no one had advanced a definitive theory. Briefly, we believe that the tiles are meant to be taken literally, and are apparently an attempt to make public a radical idea regarding human resurrection.

Q: Who/what is 'Toynbee'?
A: Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975) was a 20th century British historian and philosopher. He wrote extensively on numerous subjects, but was most interested in the philosophies of culture and history, and particularly questions surrounding the success and failure of individual human civilizations. As a Christian thinker, he conceived of history in teleological terms, causing him to fall out of favor among academic circuits following historicism's shift away from teleology towards the end of the 20th century. His 12-volume "A Study of History" is the largest single work in the English language ever published.

Q: Who/what are "Kubrick" and "Movie 2001"?
A: Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) was an American film director, noted for his subversive commentary on philosophical and political issues, and introduction of avant garde elements into a Hollywood framework. In 1968, he directed 2001: A Space Odyssey, arguably his most experimental film. Based on a short story by sci-fi guru Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) called "The Sentinel", Kubrick and Clarke crafted a dense, ambiguous and metaphor-laden screenplay that gave rise to a host of interpretations. That the first and last half-hours of the film are practically devoid of dialog confused audiences and critics at first, but intrigue slowly turned into a massive cult following. While few may agree on what exactly happens in the film, its spiritual and philosophical intensity is undeniable. The film is also notable for its groundbreaking special effects and breathtaking visuals accompanied by classical music, especially Richard Strauss's "Thus Spake Zarathustra" and Johann Strauss's "The Blue Danube."

Q: How do 2001 and Toynbee relate to each other?
A: It is not immediately obvious, and there are no concrete parallels; one can only interpret the similarities for one's self. Toynbee's writing on cultural rebirth may be comparable to the spiritual rebirth at the end of 2001. Toynbee writes of individual societies' need to evolve intellectually, culturally and technologically in order to stay healthy and avoid stagnation. One could interpret several parts of 2001 (primitive man's development of tools, man's conquering machine, the ending, etc.) as literal steps of evolution. Also, Toynbee and Clarke were contemporaries.

Q: Where does planet Jupiter fit in?
A: Again, it's tough to say. Jupiter figures prominently in 2010, 2001's sequel. There are no direct references to Jupiter in any of Toynbee's writing that we have found. Some have interpreted the planet seen in the final moments of 2001 as Jupiter, although others argue against that interpretation.

Q: Do you think the artist responsible for the Toynbee tiles really believes in all this resurrection stuff, or is he just messing with our minds?
A: It is difficult to think that someone would put so much time and energy into a guerrilla art campaign only to "mess with our minds," is it not? I mean, we are talking about two decades of extensive traveling, not to mention all the time it must take to make and glue a tile. The sheer dedication of the tiler seems to point to his sincerity. By our interpretation, the Toynbee tile lexicon seems also to be sincere, rather than a calculated artistic message that is intentionally opaque: the "Manifesto" tile is a good example of this.

Q: How many Toynbee Idea tiles are out there?
A: We know of around 150 old-style tiles (from approximately 1987–2002) that have appeared in 25 cities in the US and South America. We would guess that over 300 new-style tiles (2002–present) have appeared in or near Philadelphia, as well as a small number outside of Philadelphia. House of Hades, the most prolific copycat movement, has probably laid around 50 as of 2011, and there are several other copycat movements.

Q: When did the tiles first appear?
A: We have heard unverified claims dating back to the mid-1970s, but these dates are highly suspicious, if not completely dismissible. The Toynbee Idea message seems to have first appeared around 1980 on various media, but the first tiles were probably laid around 1987.

Q: Are they still being laid?
A: Yes. No major tile run has appeared more than about a two hours' drive outside of Philadelphia since 2002: one isolated sighting off I-95 in Connecticut in 2006 is the sole known exception. There are presently at least three copycat tilers making copycat Toynbee tiles, and at least three artists using the tile medium to spread their own message. Opinions are divided as to whether or not the original tiler is still in fact at work, or whether someone else is carrying the torch.

Q: How are they laid?
A: First, a message is carved on a piece of flexible, not brittle, linoleum. Then, two pieces of tar paper are used to cover the linoleum like bread covering the filling of a sandwich. The linoleum is also smothered with Elmer's glue and asphalt crack filler. The whole concoction is then laid down in the asphalt of an intersection while concealed by the tar paper. The tile is "baked" into the ground by the sun's heat, which liquifies the asphalt ever so slightly. Pressure from car and foot traffic further impress the tile into the ground. By the time the top layer of tar paper is removed, the tile will have become deeply impressed and will be impossible to remove without fully repaving the street.

Q: What's the difference between 'old-style' and 'new-style' tiles?
A: Briefly, the latter involved an evolving style that eventually flowered into colorful and large mosaics, concluding circa 2002. Thereafter, tiles became smaller, less artistic, more hastily written and completely lacking non-text flourishes (e.g., pictures.) This era begins the "new style." By 2007, old-style elements began reappearing, and the distinction has since become more ambiguous. Generally, the old-style tiles tended to be deeper into a crosswalk, i.e. in the area through which cars drive, while new-style tiles tend to be closer to the sidewalk and oriented to the eyes of a pedestrian. The major exception to this are the highway tiles, who are considered to be of the new style (mainly because of handwriting and date) despite being geared towards drivers.

Q: How does one destroy a tile? What happens to make them no longer there?
A: While it's setting in, traffic often destroys part of a tile. The only way to destroy a tile once it's been laid is to repave the street it's on, or to dump a bunch of tar on it to cover it up.

Q: Has anyone systematically tried to rid a city of its tiles?
A: The rapid disappearance of the numerous Manhattan tiles lead some tile fans to speculate that the city of New York tried to destroy all the tiles in the city, but missed one on 36th St and Park Ave, which has eroded down to almost nothing as of 2010. The city of Chicago has declared tiles "vandalism" and stated their intention to removed them all as well, although a few fragments can still be found there.

Q: If you chart the locations of the tiles on an inner-city or nation-wide map, will it form a picture or a treasure map or something?
A: No.

Q: Do you think aliens are involved?
A: No.

Q: Is Justin Duerr the tiler?
A: No.

Q: Is Justin Duerr or a member of your crew the new-style tiler?
A: No. Justin has experimented with making and gluing his own tiles, and has laid a few in Philadelphia, in the Southwest US and on the West Coast, but he is not the main tiler, we promise.

Q: Do you know who the tiler is?
A: "Resurrect Dead", our documentary about the tiles, advances a theory as to who is responsible for the tiles.

Q: Who was James Morasco? Railroad Joe? Sevy the Birdman?
A: James Morasco was named in 1983 Philadelphia Inquirer article by journalist Clark DeLeon about a man fronting an organization called the Minority Association who sought to use science to resurrect the dead on Jupiter. The only person by this name that lived in Philadelphia during this time with that name was a resident of the Chestnut Hill neighborhood, who swore that he had no connection to the Minority Association. Morasco passed away in 2003. Julius "Railroad Joe" Piroli was a railroad worker who lived in at South Philadelphia address during the 1970s and 1980s that was tied to the tiles via an address found on a South American tile. He died in 1987. Sevy "the Birdman" Verna is the current residence of this house, nicknamed for his love of birds, who denies connection to the tiles.

Q: Why do you care so much about these tiles? A: Isn't it obvious? They're fascinating! No graffiti is as durable or unique. The unknown meaning of the phrase is utterly tantalizing, and discovering the identity of the creator is a great challenge for the amateur detective. Each tile is its own self-contained work of art, delivered through a unique and unprecedented medium. The Toynbee tiles are at once the most under-appreciated guerrilla art campaign and one of the most intriguing mysteries of our time.

Q: What is the deal with your documentary? When can I see it?
A: We began working on the film in early 2005. It was finished in late 2010, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011, and will open in theaters in September 2011. It is completely independent. It was made by four tile fans: director Jon Foy, leading tile scholar Justin Duerr, along with Steve Weinik and Colin Smith.