Anyone can spare a handful of dirt. There are about 60 million homeowners in the U.S., if they each send about a cup of dirt from their yard it equates to 18,566 cubic yards of dirt which would be a decent little hill. But donations could continually be accepted and the hill would continue to grow. In return people would get a certificate of participation of some sort. It would make a great tourist attraction, you could trump the guy who went to the Four Corners Monument and stood in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado, because you stood in ALL 50 states at the same time.
-- Gerad, Sep 08 2005

Postal Flash Mob Postal_20Flash_20Mob
by waugsqueke. [calum, Sep 08 2005]

I can see this hill springing to life with err..all forms of life from all 50 states.
-- skinflaps, Sep 08 2005


This is good. An international version would be even better.
-- wagster, Sep 08 2005


So where do you build such a hill? Do you build it in the US or another country? And if it is in the US, how do you select the host state?
-- Jscotty, Sep 08 2005


We could fill in New Orleans this way, very slowly...
-- Worldgineer, Sep 08 2005


If everyone sends in water, then someone could drink all 50 states.
-- phundug, Sep 08 2005


//So where do you build such a hill?// - Anyone can build it wherever they want to, you don't need permission just people willing to post a bit of dirt. New York wants one? It gets one. Washington? Have one too. Stick one in your back yard if you want to, you just need a big car and a couple of weeks off work and you can do it yourself - a symbolic spadeful from each state and a 50 state hillock next to the barbie.
-- wagster, Sep 08 2005


Would you like some lint? I have lots of lint.
-- bungston, Sep 08 2005


A dirt postal flash mob, eh?
-- calum, Sep 08 2005


\\because you stood in ALL 50 states at the same time\\. And later you can regale people with stories about that time you got drunk and pissed on all 50 states at once.
-- hidden truths, Sep 08 2005


Get some native grass from each state and scatter the seeds on top of the hill, get all the grasses intermingling, you know, to control erosion.

Or cast all the dirt into a square of concrete, stamped with some description of what it is, replace one square of sidewalk in front of each state capitol with the same thing, and somewhere in D.C., create a much bigger one like it.
-- oxen crossing, Sep 09 2005


I think rather than asking postal employees to carry parcels of dirt about the place, people could be encouraged to bring a jar of dirt to empty on the pile if they are planning a visit to the National Hill of Soil Museum and Monument.

Just don't make it at the Grand Canyon, or the two tourist attractions may one day cancel each other out!
-- not_only_but_also, Sep 09 2005


//the two tourist attractions may one day cancel each other out!//

That's just blown my mind...
-- Detly, Sep 09 2005


// And if it is in the US, how do you select the host state?// Washington DC looks like it was created for the purpose. At last, a use for The Mall.
As [skinflaps] alluded to, if some states already get upset if you try to bring in fruit or vegetables (I guess so as not to introduce pests and diseases), won't they get upset if you try to introduce dirt?
Maybe that's why they make you take your shoes off at US airports - to make sure you don't have alien soil stuck to your soles.
-- coprocephalous, Sep 09 2005


Yep, could cause a problem.
-- skinflaps, Sep 09 2005


I can see the protests already. Not for valid environmental concerns, but because people will object to having “red state” dirt in their “blue state”, and vice-versa.
-- Shz, Sep 09 2005


eBay could be used as a platform for this - you would put handfulls of earth from your garden up for auction on eBay and bid for other people's handfulls of earth. In this way you could make your garden representative of any grouping of states or nations you like. Of course earth from really small places will be more scarce and thus reach higher prices - so if you wanted your garden to be representative of Europe, for example, expect to pay a lot for earth from Vatican City, Luxembourg and Monaco.
-- hippo, Sep 09 2005


Could be put in west virginia. They're lopping the tops off of all of their hills now anyway; this would be a good start towards rebuilding.
-- shapu, Sep 09 2005


//how, on eBay, would you maintain authenticity// Now you have me wondering about the authenticity of my own dirt. How do I know it's not Texan dirt, posted to Seattle as some tourist attraction of the past?
-- Worldgineer, Sep 09 2005


[shapu] I hesitate to ask, but why are THEY lopping off the tops of hills in West Virginia?
Are THEY maybe trying to pre-empt the 50 state hill market?
-- coprocephalous, Sep 09 2005


We could carry the dirt out in our pockets and when the guards aren't looking, just let it trickle out our pant legs.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Sep 09 2005


[copro] I believe they violated some of our puritanical obscenity laws and had to be modified.
-- Worldgineer, Sep 09 2005


[world] I thought the Tetons were the other side of the country?
-- coprocephalous, Sep 09 2005


By "they," I mean native west virginians employed by mining companies.

'Tis easier, they say, to get at thin seams of coal near mountaintops simply by removing the dirt above the coal, rather than going through the hill itself.

Look up "Dragline" and "Mountaintop removal mining" on any web search engine.
-- shapu, Sep 09 2005


//If everyone sends in water, then someone could drink all 50 states.//

Believe me, you don't want to drink California.
-- disbomber, Sep 09 2005


Whachyoo talking about? There is some fine water in California. I drank it for 38 years before I moved to Spokane, WA, which has some highly questionable activity on top of it's aquifer.
-- oxen crossing, Sep 10 2005



random, halfbakery