Last week, a group called the Urban Repair Squad painted sound-effect words—”Thunk!” “Oof” and the like—along Toronto’s Harbord Street where potholes and other perils threaten cyclists. They’re calling the project “Pothole Onomatopoeia.”
Popularity: 20% [?]
The way the street feels may soon be defined by what cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Imagine film of a normal street right now, a relatively busy crossroads at 9AM taken from a vantage point high above the street, looking down at an angle as if from a CCTV camera. We can see several buildings, a dozen cars, and quite a few people, pavements dotted with street furniture.
Freeze the frame, and scrub the film backwards and forwards a little, observing the physical activity on the street. But what can’t we see?
Popularity: 59% [?]
Beware the friend who suddenly takes up crochet. She (or he) may be a yarn bomber.
Working under code names such as Incogknito and the Microfiber Militia, a global network of “craftivists” is stitching makeshift sweaters, oversized tea cozies and giant pompoms around public property. Street poles, trees, bike racks, bridges – nothing is safe in target cities such as London, Paris, Chicago and Stockholm.
The craftivists’ manifesto, according to Vancouver knitters Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain, is “world yarn domination.”
Popularity: 18% [?]