Revisiting Toynbee Tiles, 2024

I've recently revisited Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, a 2011 film about the truly mysterious public installations known as Toynbee tiles. I can't recall exactly when I first heard of the tiles but I do have a blog post here on the site dating back to 2012, so it's safe to say I've been a fan for over a decade. I hate to spoil the future but I was a guest on the podcast Dizzy Spell presenting quite a rundown on all things Toynbee. That episode won't be out for a few weeks but the topic is very fresh on my mind.

For the uninitiated, Toynbee tiles are handcut ceramic tiles embedded into streets and crosswalks with an enigmatic message:

TOYNBEE IDEA
IN MOVIE 2001
RESURRECT DEAD
ON PLANET JUPITER.

There is some variance in the messaging but that's the general gist. The movie, Resurrect Dead, takes an exhaustive deep dive into who is making the tiles. If you have never heard of this or seen the film, I suggest you start opening some tabs.

All that is preamble tho. I have enjoyed the mystery of the tiles for so long but never really dug into exactly what they mean. I also haven't done much follow-up on the phenomena since 2014 (or whenever I have the pleasure of accidentally seeing one in real life). To that end, here's a few intriguing bullet points that will be completely senseless unless you're familiar with the whole shebang:

• The investigators from the film have shared the Minority Association Documents - the group that "Tom Morasco" formed in an effort to reach the press to tell his story of Toynbee's resurrection plans. It's a truly compelling 10-page read through and absolutely confirms the films findings in terms of who the tiler's true identity is.
• The Wikipedia for Toynbee tiles seems to outline that there are Possible Subjects for whom "Toynbee" is referencing in the tiles - providing four compelling options. However, the Minority Association Documents make it very clear that it is referring to Arnold Toynbee. Nothing groundbreaking there, just nice to have confirmed.
• ToynbeeIdea.com hasn't had a new post in many years but there's a wealth of information there worth taking in. For instance, spotting a copycat, Steve Powers tributing the tiles, anecdotes recalling Larry King Live appearances or just random tile news from 2006.
• ResurrectDead.com still proves to be a fun read - particularly the FAQ and the tile gallery.
• This interview with director Jon Foy provides a lot of insight into how the film came to exist, how it was submitted to Sundance and, possibly, where there haven't been more films from Foy - it sounds like it was a total drag financially! That's a bummer because he did a truly admirable job making sense of it all.
• I don't know why this never occurred to me before but you can see tiles on Google Maps Streetview. At 6th and Union in Nashville, TN, there's a copycat "House of Hades" tile captured right there on the 9eyes. One day it will be lost to the archives as well but it's fun to see now.

In prep for the podcast I visited all of the above and way more. I feel like I have a proper grip on what the tile actually means now - something that eluded me for years. I won't define it explicitly in case you would like to make the dive for yourself but I will say that Toynbee's autobiography and the Minority Association documents were my keys to understanding it (to the best of my ability).

Go subscribe to Dizzy Spell, my episode should be out on May 22nd, 2024.