Crazy Walls

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Narrative String Theory — The Vault of Culture

An ongoing series, initially appearing on tumblr, collecting all known appearances of “narrative string theory” (string walls, walls and flo

Via the aforementioned podcast episode I discovered this blog that has been saving examples of crazy walls just like our mad selves.

While it's only been running since 2017 – six years after Crazy Walls started – its owner, Shawn Gilmore, has now amassed 1,299 examples, far more than this humble site.

So, probably worth following that rather than this place. It has an RSS feed, although its location is quite well hidden: https://www.vaultofculture.com/vault?format=rss

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The Tangled Web of Red String Boards

Can’t you see it?! They’re all connected!

A must-listen for all crazy wall aficionados, although the answer to the over-laboured question of whether crazy walls are really used by law enforcement will not surprise you.

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Enola Holmes 2, end credits

How do you turn a collection of random papers and objects into something more mysterious? Add some red string or ribbon of course!

This clearly isn't a crazy wall given that the ribbon is the only thing fixed in place, so a crazy table perhaps.

One nice touch: It seems like some of the images in the old documents are of the person credited, such as Daniel Pemberton above.

(Thanks, Elena Fatkulina)

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Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook

Back in 2020 we had a LEGO crazy wall and here's another. This one belongs to LEGO Sherlock Holmes and no doubt contains important clues for aficionados. Unfortunately, unlike that 2020 crazy wall from a police station, this one resists customisation. An investigation frozen in time.

(Thanks Chris)

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A billboard for Audible, seen on a rainy British railway station platform. So many mysteries.

Why is it so hard to find pictures of outdoor ad campaigns? Audible's "Newsroom" has had no posts for seven months.

Why does this woman have a bath in her office?

Why does she need candles, a desk lamp, and two spotlights when there's already sunlight streaming through the window?

Are those lights properly rated for use so close to a bath? Some should surely be IP44, if not IP65, but we suspect that's not the case.

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grown-ish, S06 E11, "Lost Ones"

I know nothing at all about this show, but I'm going to guess PALMROSE is the guilty one.

(Thanks Dave)

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Zero Day, s01e05

It's only mildly crazy. I guess De Niro is mellowing with age.

(Thanks Šmingvin.)

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James Hoffman, 'Can I Revolutionise Coffee?'

Judging by the manic energy and the quality of the crazy wall, I suspect coffee is only the start. We can but dream.

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Dog Man

Because you're never too young for a crazy wall.

(Thanks Tom)

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Ludwig, S01 E04

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Inside No. 9, S07 E03 "Nine Lives Kat"

(Thanks Hugo)

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A rare example of a crazy wall in the real world or, at least, as the background for a press photo.

(Thanks Šmingvin.)

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What We Do In The Shadows, S05 E09

Some crazy vampirical plotting is afoot.

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“Does that look straight to you?”

By Will McPhail at the New Yorker.

(Thanks, Russell)

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Dark S01 E10, Alpha und Omega

If we were forced to split crazy walls into two simple categories, we'd have those created by people in the midst of the crazy – a serial killer, a time traveller, a script writer – and those created by people outside the crazy, attempting to figure it out from scratch.

Many of those in the latter category are the police and other security forces, either piecing together clues to catch the criminal or, as here, trying to work out what on Earth is going on in their little German town where people disappear, other dead bodies appear, and something weird seems to be happening every 33 years.

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Dark, S01 E09, Alles ist Jetzt (Everything is Now), and S01 E05, Wahrheiten (Truths)

Of course, a show this complex requires more than one crazy wall and this one, spreading over more than one plane, is a nice variant. While the previous crazy wall was a simple photos-and-string affair, here we have a mess of clippings, notes, drawings, photos, pages from books, and so much more.

[crazywalls]

Dark S01 E01, Geheimnisse (Secrets)

It shouldn't be a surprise that a show featuring a large cast of interrelated characters, and storylines split over three time periods (so far) with many of the same characters, would feature crazy walls. How else is someone to keep track of everything? And so, in the very first episode, we have this dimly-lit creation. It's impossible to know where the character obtained all these photos of people but let's pass that mystery by.