Phables: Aug. 20, 2007

Phables

It’s stories like this that make Phables such a stand-out feature. Back in the 80s, a mystery man started cutting enigmatic messages into linoleum tile and then permanently affixed them to the road using asphalt sealer. He’d set them out on a hot day and let the tires of passing-by cars seal them to the road.

TOYNBEE IDEA
KUBRICK MOVIE 2001
RESURRECT DEAD
PLANET JUPITER

By the end of the 80s, there were more than 130 of these tiles across Philly — and then they started showing up across the globe.

No one knows for sure who started it or why. But it is as much a part of the Philly fabric as cheesesteaks and the Liberty Bell.