Editing Toynbee tiles (section)

== History ==
The first confirmed sighting of the Toynbee tiles was in Philadelphia in 1983,<ref name="resurrectdead.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.resurrectdead.com/mystery.htm |title=Resurrect Dead Mystery |publisher=Resurrectdead.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100130022739/http://www.resurrectdead.com/mystery.htm |archive-date= 2010-01-30}}</ref> and their first known reference in the media came in 1994 in ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=The word on the street turns cryptic|last=Hiaasen|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Hiaasen |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/10/19/the-word-on-the-street-turns-cryptic/|date=October 19, 1994|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=February 7, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=By all signs, markers remain a mystery|last=Hiaasen|first=Rob|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/10/28/by-all-signs-markers-remain-a-mystery/|date=October 28, 1994|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=February 7, 2012}}</ref> A 1983 letter to ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' referenced a Philadelphia-based campaign with themes similar to those mentioned in the tiles (e.g., resurrecting the dead on [[Jupiter]], [[Stanley Kubrick]], and [[Arnold J. Toynbee]]) but did not refer to tiles.<ref name="deleon" />

In the United States, tiles have officially been sighted as far west as [[Kansas City, Missouri]],<ref name=toynbee /> as far north as [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]],<ref name=toynbee /> and as far south as [[Richmond, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Guthrie|first=Bruce|title=VA -- Richmond -- Public Art: Toynbee tiles/Stikman Robots|url=http://www.bguthriephotos.com/graphlib.nsf/keys/2020_01_02D4_Richmond_Toynbee|access-date=2020-08-20|website=BGuthrie Photos}}</ref> Since 2002, very few new tiles considered to be the work of the original artist have appeared outside of the immediate [[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] area, although one notable sighting appeared in suburban [[Connecticut]] in 2006,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.steveweinik.com/blog/?p=214 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716140419/http://www.steveweinik.com/blog/?p=214 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-07-16 |title=Huge Tile News – dovate |publisher=Steveweinik.com |date=2006-08-24 |access-date=2010-10-11}}</ref> and one appeared in [[Edison, New Jersey]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://photos.steveweinik.com/Galleries/ResurrectDead/Toynbee-Tiles/i-BzF2ssD/A|title=Toynee Tiles – Steve Weinik Photography|publisher=Steve Weinik|access-date=July 22, 2015}}</ref> Presumed copycat tiles have been spotted in [[Noblesville, Indiana]]; [[Buffalo, New York]]; [[Syracuse, New York]]; [[San Francisco|San Francisco, California]]; [[Portland, Oregon]]; and [[Roswell, New Mexico]] as well as a 1997 sighting in [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]] and a 2013 sighting in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]].<ref name="toynee.net snapshot"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newson6.com/story/5e362f212f69d76f6204f148/toynbee-tile-mystery-comes-to-tulsa|title=Toynbee Tile Mystery Comes To Tulsa|publisher=News on 6|date=7 July 2014}}</ref> Many older tiles considered to be the work of the original tiler have been eroded by traffic, but {{as of|2011|lc=on}} older tiles remain in [[Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]; [[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]]; [[Cincinnati|Cincinnati Ohio]], [[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]]; and [[South America]], among other locations.

[[File:Toynbeetilenyc.jpg|thumb|alt=A Toynbee tile in New York City, 2013|A Toynbee tile in New York City, 2013]]

On June 19, 2013, tiles resembling the Toynbee tiles appeared on a street in [[Topeka, Kansas]]. They were removed by the evening of the next day.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hrenchir |first=Tim |url=http://cjonline.com/news/2013-06-20/tile-embedded-downtown-street-bears-mystery-message |title=Tile embedded in downtown street bears mystery message |publisher=CJOnline.com |date=2013-06-20 |access-date=2013-11-12}}</ref> Less than a month later, on July 17, 2013, a tile resembling the Toynbee tiles appeared on a street in [[Salt Lake City|Salt Lake City, Utah]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fox13now.com/2013/07/17/mysterious-message-pops-up-in-salt-lake-city-street |title=Mysterious message appears in Salt Lake City street |publisher=FOX13Now.com |date=2013-07-17 |access-date=2013-11-12}}</ref>

Newer tiles have been embedded on several major highways in Pennsylvania, including [[Interstate 476]] in [[Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Delaware County]], and on [[Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania|Interstate 95]]. About six more were found on [[U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania|U.S. 1]] northbound starting in [[Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania|Drexel Hill]] in [[Delaware County, Pennsylvania]] in 2007 and 2008. The plates are much larger than the originals and have red italic writing on them. In 2016, some tiles started re-appearing in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/new-toynbee-tiles-appear-streets-philadelphia/|title=New Toynbee Tiles appear on the streets of Philadelphia|date=15 August 2016}}</ref>