.jpg "TEAM: Probot")
Super Glued by Levitating Potato
November 30th, 2007 3:09 PMSidewalks, as with all routes, have ends. It seems almost unique to sidewalks, however, that builders seem to think nothing of having them simply end, without any particular destination at that endpoint. Roads and rail are built only as far as the last interesting destination on the route; sidewalks, however, are built along pre-existing routes, seemingly without regard to potential destinations or lack thereof.
Whether through zoning laws or some other impetus, the sidewalks of this office complex connect the buildings to each other, and the buildings to the parking deck, and the parking deck to... nothing. It simply ends with a step down onto the driveway of the first house on the street. It was this setting I chose for my Task, with the hope that I might evoke a similar curiosity in someone else.
My chosen method -- gluing coins to the ground -- has certainly been done before, but it seemed an interesting approach nonetheless.
I set out in dark of night with my 24 nickels and JB-Weld epoxy. Mixing epoxy by light of sodium lamps was certainly a new experience. Speaking of JB-Weld, I should have saved the packaging for a photo. I would be surprised if it has changed at all since the stuff was introduced some time in the 1960s.
I returned 2 days later when it was light out to take pictures. All but two of the coins were still there; I plan to return tonight to conduct repairs. It hadn't occurred to me until after I set out that the cold night would mean the epoxy wouldn't set until well after sunup; perhaps this is related to why the coins are missing.
11 vote(s)
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teucer
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Fonne Tayne
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Loki
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Charlie Fish
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beneath?
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Burn Unit
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Spidere
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James Grant
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GYØ Ben
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susy derkins
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I glued them down late Tuesday night. As of this afternoon (Friday), 22 of the 24 were still there. I haven't thought of a convenient way to observe people; it's not a high traffic area, and there's not really a good place to sit and watch.
I'm going to head out later tonight and replace those two.
Awesome, pity about the lack of an observation point, you have a window facing it?
Nope. It's a bit over 1/4 mile away, and there are trees and houses and such in between.
I'm actually more surprised two are missing -- they're quite thoroughly stuck. I can't think of a way to get them off that doesn't involve something like a chisel or a blowtorch. Like I said, I think it's because the epoxy hadn't had time to cure with the cold (epoxies cure much, much slower when cold).
Yep, hopefully replacements'll stick better :)
OK, even if the epoxy hadn't cured yet - why on earth would someone take a nickel covered in epoxy on one side, the second time? I mean, the first time, not knowing what's going on, makes sense, but that's just weird.
I looked for the nickels, and couldn't find them -- all evidence suggests that said person did, in fact, take the nickels with them.
Which, IMO, is pretty cool. To the point of being voteworthy even.
do you know anyone nearby the place? perhaps other people could let you know if they see anything fishy...
I love the care that went into choosing your location.
Welcome to the game.
Excellent debut... welcome to the game!
Thanks for the welcome, everyone!
I decided I wanted to do this task, and that I wanted to glue a large number of objects rather than just one or two. I was having trouble deciding how to make coins (that scene from Empire Records always makes me giggle) more interesting, when it occurred to me that I should also try to make the completion uniquely BARTPA-themed, and from there it simply flowed.
I went back this afternoon and verified that all 24 coins are still present (the 22 originals and the 2 replacements). I'll check back in a week or two.
Alas, I don't know anyone who lives closer to the installation than I do.
well done. welcome.
i find it interesting that the first thing many people think to glue down is money. i wonder why that is??
Classic! Totally classic.
Sidewalks to nowhere: they beg to be reclaimed as urban playground.
How come this was done before your player photograph?
Indeed, there needs to be more urban playground tasking.
At this point, all the nickels are gone. They disappeared slowly for a while, then the remaining 2/3 or so of them all went away at once; I assume someone decided they should be removed.
It wasn't actually done before my player photo; the player photo just gets updated to the new era.
Welcome to the game!
This is a great first completion, I was wondering if anyone would go for coinage.
Are they still there?
Has anyone tried to remove them?