Prompt Cast
The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles: Bizarre Messages Embedded in Streets
TLDR The Toynbee tiles are linoleum tiles embedded in streets with strange messages, including anti-Semitic ones, and their creator and motive remain unknown. The purpose of the tiles is still a mystery, with theories ranging from a messaging system for someone with a mental condition to an ongoing art project or a genuine attempt to start a scientific movement.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The Toynbee tiles are mysterious linoleum tiles embedded in the asphalt of streets, bearing bizarre messages and appearing since at least the mid-80s, with no known creator or motive.
05:12
The Toynbee tiles are embedded linoleum tiles with bizarre messages, including anti-Semitic ones, and their creator and motive remain unknown, but there are various interpretations and theories surrounding them.
10:16
The Toynbee tiles are based on the ideas of historian Arnold Toynbee, who believed that civilizations rise and fall based on their creative responses to problems, and the tile maker is fixated on the concept of resurrecting the dead on Jupiter.
15:11
The Toynbee tile messages in Philadelphia were similar to the posters around the city, which also mentioned the idea of resurrecting the dead on Jupiter, and there is a possible connection between the tile maker and playwright David Mamet.
20:11
The tile maker of the Toynbee Tiles likely lived in Philadelphia, as that is where the most concentration of tiles were found, and there were test tiles found in a neighborhood where the tile maker was later pinpointed.
25:21
The investigators have narrowed down the likely identity of the tile maker to Severino Verna, based on various clues and evidence, including his car with a large antenna and the fact that he broadcasted his ideas from it.
29:59
The investigators found a long, rambling online document that is considered the most important clue in the Toynbee tile mystery, and they also discovered that one of the earliest tiles had an address in Philadelphia that turned out to be Severino Verna's, although it's unclear if he personally traveled to South America to place the tiles there.
34:44
The investigators discovered how the Toynbee tiles were created, using asphalt crack filler and tar paper to hide the tiles until they were revealed over time.
39:23
The Toynbee tile maker would lay down pre-made tiles with asphalt filler and tar paper on busy streets and highways, allowing them to be revealed over time by traffic and pedestrians, and the tiles are not meant to last long, usually about a year.
44:05
The purpose of the Toynbee tiles remains a mystery, with theories ranging from a messaging system for someone with a mental condition to an ongoing art project or a genuine attempt to start a scientific movement.
49:04
The speaker shares their personal experience with phantom kidney sensation and emphasizes the positive impact of the paired kidney exchange program.
Categories:
Society & Culture
