Cryptic Toynbee Tiles Randomly Appear Throughout New York Streets
Dozens of these strange tile sightings have been reported throughout the state of New York. Who put them there and what the heck do they mean?
If you're not lucky enough to come across one of these bizarre tiles here is what they say:
"TOYNBEE IDEA
IN MOViE 2001
RESURRECT DEAD
ON PLANE JUPITER"
What does it mean? No one really has an answer and that's what makes these things so dang fascinating.
If you know me you know that I love weird stories that no one else seems to want to waste their time with. I've been fascinated by the mystery surrounding these tiles for years. I remember seeing a documentary on Netflix a while back called Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. Recently, a friend of mine posted a sighting of one of the tiles on Insatgram which brought back my curiosity
Almost ten years after I first heard about these tiles it's crazy to think they are still popping up all over New York and beyond.
Why are these here? There's really not a lot of solid evidence behind the full meaning of these weird tiles but there are some theories.
According to Damn Interesting, the tiles first started popping up in the early '90s. The Toynbee idea is likely a nod to Arnold Toynbee and the Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The suspected link between the two is that both Toynbee and Kubrick suggested that man can be resurrected on Jupiter through their work.
Oddly, almost all of the tiles are intricately carved inside the city streets. It looks like it could have taken hours. Many of them are believed to be crafted and placed by the same person. There are some copycats believed to be out there.
Have you ever seen any of these tiles around New York? People have reported seeing them all over the east coast.