DEFLATED

The causes of tire punctures are numerous, as indicated by the images in this year’s calendar. These objects were collected over the past year from auto repair and tire shops in Philadelphia. The city’s streets are notoriously filthy, as noted by infamous former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on a 2007 visit to thank Philadelphia for accepting refugees from Hurricane Katrina. By calling NOLA’s streets clean by comparison, Mayor Nagin suggested that even the detritus from the cataclysmic 2005 hurricane could not top Philadelphia’s debris.

Philthadelphia has long abandoned its street sweeping program, choosing instead not to annoy car owners by having them move their parked cars (a very popular political option) and to funnel that money instead toward the black hole of the “general fund.” This short-term thinking leads to more annoying tire punctures.

But how do the streets get so filthy, and how do these objects end up puncturing tires? Philadelphia has a culture of trashy streets because people perceive litter as “someone else’s problem.” Those problems are for the overworked and underpaid weekly waste haulers. This is not to mention the homeowners, who also sometimes contribute to the problem by not properly securing their own trash at the curb. One windy night and you can wake up to a minefield of debris on the sidewalks and streets.

Yet, most of the items shown here have “fallen off” contractors’ trucks. Philadelphia has seen an explosion of wood-framed new housing, and it seems that anybody with a toolbox is getting in on the game. Old housing is demolished and hauled away, and some of the pieces just don’t make it to the landfill. When these items get deposited on the roads, a front wheel will kick them up for a back tire to either run over or scatter to the next unlucky driver. Ironically, contractors’ vehicles too are often victims of their own slovenliness.

Like a bad lottery, tire punctures will persist, leaving random drivers and bicyclists deflated.

WANT THESE DEFLATING OBJECTS AS A 2023 CALENDAR? IF SO, DOWNLOAD IT HERE FOR FREE! LARGE FILE.

hung up

SHAFTED

TANGLED

UNFASTENED

SCREWED

SPIKED

KEYED

BROKEN

UNBOLTED

VAPED

STUCK

NAILED

WANT THESE DEFLATING OBJECTS AS A 2023 CALENDAR? IF SO, DOWNLOAD IT HERE FOR FREE! LARGE FILE.

PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR TOP LOADING PRINTERS-LOAD SEVEN LETTER-SIZED PAPERS (8.5X11) PORTRAIT/VERTICALLY ORIENTED IN YOUR PRINTER. PRINT THE ODD NUMBERS ONLY FIRST. ADOBE ACROBAT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THIS. TAKE THAT PRINTED PACKET, FLIP IT OVER SO YOU SHOULD SEE “HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023” FACING AWAY FROM YOU. PLACE THE PAGES BACK IN THE PRINTER WITH "HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023” SIDE GOING IN FIRST. DO NOT SEPARATE THE PAGES! KEEP IT AS A PACK. THE BLANK SIDES SHOULD BE FACING YOU. PRINT THE EVEN NUMBERS ONLY. SCORE THE CENTER LINES OF THE ODD SIDES. FOLD FOR A CRISP EDGE AND ARRANGE THE PAGES SO THEY MAKE THE CALENDAR IN ORDER WITH "HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023” AS THE COVER WHEN ASSEMBLED. JULY IS THE MIDDLE OF THE CALENDAR, THEN JUST STACK THE REMAINING MONTHS OF THE YEAR WITH THE COVER LAST. THIS IS THE EASIEST METHOD. THE CALENDAR SHOULD BE IN THE SAME ORDER AS THE IMAGES POSTED HERE. THEN FIND A WAY TO STAPLE THE CENTER AT THE ENDS OF THE CENTER LINE. STAPLE THROUGH THE COVER. THERE’S A CIRCLE AT THE TOP OF EACH PAGE FOR A PIN. WE SUGGEST HEAVY-WEIGHT PAPER LIKE BROCHURE OR CARD STOCK. SEND US A PHOTO OF YOUR HANGING CALENDAR WHEN COMPLETE TO INFO@RETHIKTANKDESIGN.COM. WE WILL RESPOND WITH A UNIQUE COUPON CODE. ENJOY!