Halloween 2013: Now Everyone Can Learn Something!

I did it again. My Halloween costume was bizarre, hard to explain, and related to something I discovered while writing this blog. Back in July I wrote about an excellent documentary called Resurrect Dead which investigates the existence of messages embedded in the pavement known as Toynbee Tiles.

Me as a Toynbee Tile

Your standard Toynbee Tile

The short version of the story is that someone or some people have been placing these linoleum tiles in roads across the country since the 1980s. The message is always "Toynbee Idea/In Kubrick's 2001/Resurrect Dead/On Planet Jupiter" which roughly means that historian Arnold Toynbee's theory - that you can resurrect everything that ever lived by gathering up all the particles - can be achieved on Jupiter, and Stanley Kubrick's film 2001:A Space Odyssey proves this. It's a really strange concept, and even stranger why the messages must be placed in roads.

Promo photo for the documentary Resurrect Dead

In September I saw a Toynbee Tile IRL in St. Louis. That's about as far west as you can find them. I nearly stopped traffic as I walked past it in the cross walk. It was an honor.

The Toynbee Tile I found in St. Louis on 8th and Main St. 9/13

Come October, I had a great idea for a cheap (yet confounding) Halloween costume. All it took was a black shirt and multicolored masking tape. And if it comes out wonky: no worries! Toynbee Tiles are typically mishapped anyway. Stick on some desperate paranoid statements if you have room. I managed to add an ominous "You Must" on my shoulder. Also, put some renegade smooshed tile (masking tape) on your face to complete the look. Note: make sure your face is completely clean, because it is hard to make masking tape stick to skin, let alone slightly oily skin. There was more tape on my eyebrows, but this photo was taken at the end of a fun night.

Keep it strange. Happy Halloween!