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Connect the dots with sidewalk gum spots

Dots on the sidewalk left by people's gum. It's quite amazing how so many dots form.

The history of sidewalk gum dots.
A) For all these gum spots to appear, there has to be lots of people who spit their gum out on the sidewalk--not into a piece of paper, not on the street, not on the grass--but right on the sidewalk.
B) The gum has to be stepped on by some unlucky person---not kicked over, not picked up, not rained into the curb--but actually stepped on.
C) Then the gum stays and stays, accumulating dirt through time. Becoming the round black dot--joining many of its friends.

It would be fun to play connect the dots with all those gum dots. Either take a photograph and draw in some lines or use a piece of chalk and draw right on the sidewalk making some sort of image or message with these dots.

Or--one could purposefully place the dots on the sidewalk to strategically create an image or message. (although i don't like the idea of permanently vandalizing public space, maybe the dots could be removed or something)

What sort of image/message should be hidden on the sidewalk?

Gum theme ideas:
* spell out "chew on this"
* spell out "no gum"

Walking theme ideas:
* image of walking person
* image of feet, maybe footprints

Random theme ideas (relating to how one can interpret seemingly random gum dots on the sidewalk to mean something):
* spell out "Be random"
* spell out "look for meaning"

Misc ideas
* make the gum dots be different cities on a map of USA.
* Connect the dots is very simliar to creating your own constellation with stars in the sky. Maybe with this project it could be a Little dipper on the sidewalk. We can't see many stars in the city, so recreating them on the sidewalk would be an urban constellation!


Posted by: spudart on Jun 28, 04 | 11:25 pm  |   [2432] Hits  |   permalink

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i think it's gross.

Posted by: laura k. on Jun 30, 04 | 7:09 am


this reminds me of Erik's gum chair from college, but i couldn't find an image on his site. where's the gum chair, Erik?

Posted by: laura k. on Jun 30, 04 | 8:02 am


i just found a photo of the gum chair [that i took way back then]. do you want a copy, Erik?

Posted by: laura k. on Jun 30, 04 | 8:09 am


For the random dots, what about a smiley face with freckles?



Posted by: eliana briones on Jun 30, 04 | 9:42 am


cute!

Posted by: spudart on Jun 30, 04 | 9:45 am


I like the idea of connecting these thrown out pieces of gum...as if it were a metaphor about people...how even if you feel alone there are other people feeling just as lonely?...maybe I don't know... to randomly connect them without trying to create a picture...might prove to show how we interact with each other?

You could make it a trail of chewed up gum..like bread crumbs...all leading some where...

They could be ticks or fleas on the skin of Chicago?...or you could just connect them to make a smiley face with freckles?....



Posted by: eliana briones on Jun 30, 04 | 9:54 am


one should be able to actually create a place, a unique place, with ones own gum, or adding to some collection. think davinci code or something.
tie to into geo caching: find the gum spots.

Posted by: gberke on Jul 29, 07 | 9:40 am


Find out whose gum it is.
www.thatsmygum.com

Posted by: on Jan 15, 08 | 5:12 pm


Welcome
Hi. I'm Matt Maldre. Every single weekday my blog on spudart.org has a new post with an original idea or discovery. Be sure to stop by daily to see what's happening.




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