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Boston's secret sidewalk poetry
By adamg on Fri, 05/20/2016 - 7:59am
CityLab introduces us to "Raining Poetry," in which poems were inscribed on sidewalks across the city with a spray that only becomes visible when it gets wet (presumably from rain, but, you know, this is a big city and anything can happen).
Neighborhoods:
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Comments
Love this
n/t
I walked down the street, it
I walked down the street, it was so grey
Not a day you go out to play
and soon at my feet
I saw a sweet treat
Who knew poetic was rain
Safety?
How does this material, and its effect on water movement, affect safety, such as risk of slips on sidewalks?
People who drive most of the time might not realize this, but a single fall on a sidewalk can be crippling, even for a young person.
I love the smell of buzzkill in the morning.
For cripe's sake--we live in a city paved with 200-year-old granite blocks, wonky old bricks, and all sorts of neglected pavement, not to mention drivers who will run you over soon as look at you and you're worried about...dangerous poetry?
#perspective #priorities
the internet
Came to the comments to read this exchange. Was not disappointed.
Yes
and heavy walkers play a game of odds. If you're not one, ask one you know. It's the surprises that get you, more than general conditions. Let's say 99 times out of a hundred, you deftly avoid a surprise hazard, but that 1 time breaks your tailbone, leg, hip, fingers, arm, head.
So when someone who understands this hears about a surprise that affects water distribution on a wet sidewalk, asking about safety is legitimate.
I'm asking the engineers, not the art school students.
Follow the link
If you follow the link you can check out the FAQ that emphatically states it does not affect the safety of the sidewalk.
MSDS
Do you know what they are? What they tell you? What they are for?
Material
Safety
Data
Sheet
Nearly every chemical thing sold in the US has one. You might look into it.
They are just called SDS now.
They are just called SDS now.
I concur
I agree anon.
I'm a avid walker and certain materials become very slippery when wet. Ex. White paint used in crosswalks contains lead, and becomes slick and dangerous for the more feeble among us.
It's a fair question, especially since the paint is new and invisible, so us lame-Os can't anticipate it.
Leaded marking paint isn't
Leaded marking paint isn't used in MA anymore. It is only used in severely cold climates in rural areas like Alaska or the mountain roads of Maine and Colorado. The paint used here is full of microscopic glass beads which while reflective are slippery as the dickens.
There are many conditions and
There are many conditions and things which cause slippery sidewalks other than sidewalk poetry: fallen autumnal leaves on a rainy day, magnolia tree petals in the spring, snow and ice during the winter, just to name a few. Such things are largely unavoidable in a city. Please take care to wear shoes with good traction and use a cane or walker if you think that will help your stability. Falls are no joke and a broken hip can have a long-lasting impact on yiur health.
Thank you. That is a really
Thank you. That is a really important question, and this is definitely the right place to ask it. People who pilot cargo planes might not realize it, but multiple crippling falls on a sidewalk can be more crippling than a single fall spread across multiple sidewalks, even for someone approaching middle age but who can still play a college kid on TV.
I was also hoping someone would call this vandalism. Any takers?
Nope
It's artwork installed as part of a partnership with Boston City Hall. Therefore approved, thus not vandalism.
It doesn't
It's a hydrophobic spray. Inside are some mix of aliphatic hydrocarbons (meaning they don't attract water at all). They go on super thin and the result is a surface that has the exact same texture as before. The thin layer of hydrocarbons (just Cs and Hs) lays on top of the surface and isn't thick enough to change how the surface feels.
Then when it rains, the water in the rain would rather stay with other water molecules around it than try to stick to the hydrocarbons. And the hydrocarbons maintain very little space between themselves because they'd rather stick together now that their solvent has evaporated, so water doesn't get between them either and wet the underlying concrete. And you have a waterproof barrier that is only a few carbons thick.
As sunlight hits them and people walk on it, it takes about 3 months for the bonds to break down and the carbons to just wear away or get washed away and the whole thing biodegrades.
If it's hydrophobic and displaces the water
then is the water distribution uneven, resulting (a new source of) uneven friction on the sidewalk?
Not certain
However, it appears from the few photos I've seen of the works that the lettering is small enough with enough space between each letter for you to find adequate purchase on untreated concrete.
It also appears that the works do not take up the entire width of the sidewalk, allowing for people to walk, roll, traverse with walking stick aide to one side of it if uncertain of personal stability.
Again - these observations are from the photos I've seen and not from seeing the works personally.
No, but
it does result in a few cases of Rabies.
No
.
For the love of god.....STAY
For the love of god.....STAY INSIDE WHERE YOU'RE SAFE IN YOUR COCOON so that the rest of us can get on with LIFE...... Don't even consider riding a bike in the city......you won't last a block.
Super easy
If you want a pre-made kit with helpful tips on doing it nicely, there's https://rain.works
Otherwise, get a can of hydrophobic spray marketed for outdoor use and a stencil.
Also
If it wears off in 6 to 8 weeks, I can imagine if there is any slipperiness to the works, it's reduced relatively quickly.
I saw the best minds of my
I saw the best minds of my metropolis destroyed by madness,
ranting hysterical nonsense,
tiptoe-ing themselves across the toxic sidewalk at dawn trolling
for an angry anon
Massive slow clap
That was fantastic.
The Paint???
I have been SO Curious about this Boston Sidewalk Poetry that I must Inquire.... What is the PAINT and Why/How is it Clear till it Rains?
I Must HAVE!!!!
namaste
m~
Try reading
That was answered above already.
following
following various links in the article and masspoetry there is this: http://rain.works/