The Toynbee tiles, also known as Toynbee plaques, are mysterious messages of unknown origin found placed in the asphalt of streets in about two dozen major cities in the United States and three cities in South America. Since the 1980s, hundreds of these tiles have been discovered. They are usually about the size of an American license plate (approximately 30 by 15 cm or 12 by 6 inches), though some are much larger. They typically include one of the following messages:
Some of the more detailed tiles also include mysterious political messages or encourage people to make and place similar tiles. At first, the material used to create the tiles was unknown, but evidence now suggests they may be made mostly of layers of linoleum and a compound used to fill cracks in asphalt. Articles about the tiles began appearing in the mid-1990s, though mentions of them may have started in the mid-1980s.
History
The first known appearance of the Toynbee tiles was in Philadelphia in 1983. The first mention of these tiles in the media occurred in 1994 in The Baltimore Sun. A letter written in 1983 to The Philadelphia Inquirer described a campaign in Philadelphia with themes similar to those on the tiles, such as bringing the dead back to life on Jupiter, references to Stanley Kubrick, and Arnold J. Toynbee. However, the letter did not mention the tiles themselves.
In the United States, tiles have been officially seen as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far north as Boston, Massachusetts, and as far south as Richmond, Virginia. Since 2002, very few new tiles believed to be made by the original artist have appeared outside of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. However, exceptions include a tile found in suburban Connecticut in 2006 and another in Edison, New Jersey, in 2007. Tiles believed to be made by others have been found in Noblesville, Indiana; Buffalo, New York; Syracuse, New York; San Francisco, California; Portland, Oregon; and Roswell, New Mexico. Additional tiles were reported in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997 and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2013. Many older tiles made by the original artist have been damaged by traffic, but some remain in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; St. Louis, Missouri; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; and South America, among other places.
On June 19, 2013, tiles similar to the Toynbee tiles were found on a street in Topeka, Kansas. They were removed by the next evening. Less than a month later, on July 17, 2013, a tile resembling the Toynbee tiles appeared on a street in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Newer tiles have been placed on several major highways in Pennsylvania, including Interstate 476 in Delaware County and Interstate 95. About six tiles were found on U.S. 1 northbound starting in Drexel Hill, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in 2007 and 2008. These newer tiles are larger than the original ones and have red italic writing. In 2016, some tiles began to reappear in Philadelphia.
Interpretations
A documentary film about the tiles suggests that the name "Toynbee" refers to Arnold J. Toynbee, a British historian from the 20th century. It also says "Kubrick's 2001" is a reference to the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, created by filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. The film tells the story of a mission to Jupiter. Another idea, from a website called toynbee.net, suggests "Toynbee" might instead refer to a short story by Ray Bradbury titled The Toynbee Convector.
Most tiles have text similar to these examples. Some tiles also mention a group of people working together in a secret plan. This group is said to include the press, the U.S. government, the USSR, and a group called "hellion Jews." Some tiles appear to be made after the Soviet Union ended.
One tile, once in Santiago de Chile, shows an address: 2624 S. 7th, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2006, the people living there said they did not know about the tiles and were upset by people asking questions. However, the house was once home to a man who was said to be the creator of the tiles, as shown in the 2011 documentary Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. Supporters of the tiles believe a person from Philadelphia made them because many tiles are found there, they look old, they have different carving styles, and one tile shows a Philadelphia address.
Letters, supposedly written by the tile maker, were found in Philadelphia in 2006. These letters mention that "Toynbee's idea" comes from a book by Arnold Toynbee called Experiences. In the book, Toynbee writes about the difficulty of understanding the relationship between the human soul and body. He also discusses the idea of a future where humans must believe in a better world and work toward goals that seem impossible.
Another idea is that "Toynbee" refers to Ray Bradbury’s short story The Toynbee Convector. This story connects Toynbee’s belief that humans must always push forward to meet the future with the idea of reaching for goals that seem unattainable, like colonizing Jupiter, as seen in the work of science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.
Clarke’s short story Jupiter V includes a spaceship named Arnold Toynbee on a mission to Jupiter. Many ideas from this story later appeared in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Playwright David Mamet has said he believes the tiles are a tribute to one of his plays. He called the tiles "the weirdest thing that ever happened." In his 1983 play 4 A.M., a radio host based on Larry King listens to a caller who claims the movie 2001 is based on Toynbee’s writings and describes a plan to bring life back to Jupiter. The host points out mistakes in the caller’s claims.
Researchers for the 2011 documentary Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles say they found evidence that predates Mamet’s play. This includes a 1980 call from the tile maker to Larry King’s radio show. A 1983 article in The Philadelphia Inquirer mentions a local man who called talk shows and newspapers to spread the idea of bringing life back to Jupiter, as shown in 2001.
Potential creators
In 1983, a man who said his name was James Morasco, a social worker, called talk shows and newspapers to share an idea. He claimed he learned the idea from a book by historian Arnold Toynbee. In a conversation with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Morasco explained that Toynbee’s book discussed a theory about reviving dead molecules, a concept later shown in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Morasco said he had created a group called the "Minority Association," which the newspaper described as a "Jupiter colonization organization."
In 1996, a reporter named Doug Worgul from The Kansas City Star found a tile with strange writing at the corner of 13th and Grand streets in Kansas City. Seven years later, he checked again and found the tile was still there. He learned the street had been resurfaced in 1996. A local detective compared the tile to others in other cities and believed they were made by the same person. The detective also noted that the person who created the tiles likely worked alone, even though the tiles were linked to a "movement."
In 2003, Worgul called the only James Morasco listed in a Philadelphia phone book. Morasco’s wife said her husband had died in March 2003 at age 88. When asked about the tiles, she said her husband had no knowledge of them. Later, Action News Philadelphia spoke to the wife of a man named James Joseph Morasco, a carpenter who had died in 2003 at age 87. She said her husband had never been interested in Jupiter and did not recognize the tiles. If Morasco had died in 2003 at either age, he would have been in his 70s when most of the tiles were placed.
In 2011, a documentary called Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles featured Justin Duerr, an artist and tile enthusiast. Duerr believed the tiles were made by one person and thought the creator was a man named Severino "Sevy" Verna, a reclusive resident of Philadelphia. Duerr said Verna might have used the name "James Morasco" as a fake name. Neighbors reported that Verna drove a car without a passenger seat, which led Duerr to think Verna placed the tiles through a hole in the car’s floor. Some ham radio listeners claimed Verna might have sent messages about his ideas using shortwave radio.
Since 2003, new tiles have been found in Philadelphia. Between 2002 and 2007, many tiles had a different style and font compared to older ones. These newer tiles often used the word "raise" instead of "resurrect" and left out some prepositions. Starting in 2007, tiles similar to the original ones were found again. These newer tiles used the same font and message as the older ones and included some of the original ideas. They were also glued with a thicker layer of asphalt sealant than the earlier tiles.
Usage
Justin Duerr, a person who is very interested in Toynbee tiles, says he once found and studied a new tile that had been recently placed. This tile was wrapped in tar paper and put on a busy street early in the morning. Based on this discovery and other clues, Duerr thinks that the pressure from cars driving over the tile for many weeks pushes it into the road. Over time, the tar paper wears away, revealing the message on the tile.
Tiles that are placed in the middle of busy streets and highway on- and off-ramps often wear away quickly. These tiles are also more likely to be removed during road repairs. Smaller tiles and those near pedestrian crosswalks usually stay in better condition.
Many Toynbee tiles have been destroyed during regular road work. Chicago officials call the tiles "vandalism" and remove any tiles they find, treating them the same as graffiti.
A large group of tiles, which may have been created as a message from the tile maker to his enemies, was destroyed when Chestnut Street in Philadelphia was repaved. One tile has been damaged and unreadable since 1996. It is located at the corners of Talcahuano and Santa Fé streets in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
No public or private group is dedicated to protecting Toynbee tiles. Many tiles now exist only as photographs taken before they were destroyed. The tiles have been covered in news articles from American and European media, including The New York Times, The Chicago Sun-Times, Spiegel Online, and NPR. In 2011, filmmakers from Philadelphia—Justin Duerr, Jon Foy, Colin Smith, and Steve Weinik—released a documentary called Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. The film was shown at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary category, and Jon Foy won the award for best directing in that category.
As of October 2015, the Streets Department of Philadelphia recognized Toynbee Tiles as street art and said it would save one or two tiles only if there was a fast and affordable way to remove them.