What is Reddit's opinion of Motel of the Mysteries?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

You might enjoy Motel of the Mysteries.

>It is the year 4022; all of the ancient country of Usa has been buried under many feet of detritus from a catastrophe that occurred back in 1985. Imagine, then, the excitement that Howard Carson, an amateur archeologist at best, experienced when in crossing the perimeter of an abandoned excavation site he felt the ground give way beneath him and found himself at the bottom of a shaft, which, judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging from an archaic doorknob, was clearly the entrance to a still-sealed burial chamber. Carson's incredible discoveries, including the remains of two bodies, one of then on a ceremonial bed facing an altar that appeared to be a means of communicating with the Gods and the other lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in the Inner Chamber, permitted him to piece together the whole fabric of that extraordinary civilization.

> "Just say it had some kind of ritual function."

Motel of the Mysteries is a really fun book kinda lampooning this.

Future archaeologists excavate a modern-day motel (well, a late-70s motel, given when this was written), and completely misinterpret almost everything about the place.

Makes you think about what we're getting completely wrong about the things we're finding from our ancestors.

Ever read Motel of the Mysteries? It the account of archaeologists in 4022 digging up a 1970s motel, and their “interpretations” of the objects they found (like a toilet seat being a shamanistic headdress worn during a ceremony, there the wearer would chat “Sanitized for your protection!”, and other such nonsense).

It fits exactly with what you’re saying here, and is a humorous look at the assumptions we make about the past, and the people who lived in it.

Go reserve <em>Motel of the Mysteries</em> by David Macaulay from your local library. It's a tongue-in-cheek picture book about this very premise, it's a fast read, and it's really quite good. (4.5 stars on Amazon.)

You may like "Motel of the Mysteries" by David Macaulay. (http://www.amazon.com/Motel-Mysteries-David-Macaulay/dp/0395284252) I haven't read it in a long time but the general premise is that a catastrophe occurs in the 80s burying the world and a few thousand years later archaeologists discover a preserved hotel (or something) and try to figure out what everything is and what it's used for.

Was this written about in Motel of the Mtsteries? Hm…

That's exactly the plot of Motel of the Mysteries. Archaeologists in the distant future find a couple buried in a motel room and assume every object is ritualistic rather than common and for everyday use.

Motel of the Mysteries takes that concept and runs with it. Pretty funny read.

Always thought it was funny how some people tend to ascribe religious significance to just about every archaeological find. I mean, sure, maybe folks in the Neolithic painted animals on the walls of caves because they thought it would summon their spirits...or maybe they were bored and just did it for fun, or because they thought it looked cool, or any of the numerous other reasons anyone today might draw something.

In shorter time scales -- e.g. archaeological time scales -- I suggest reading "Motel of Mysteries". It's a little dated what with "movie a and movie b" but I think it would hold up.

http://www.amazon.com/Motel-Mysteries-David-Macaulay/dp/0395284252

This reminds me of the fantastic book from my childhood called &quot;Motel of Mysteries&quot;

Check it out!

Motel of Mysteries

I had this book when I was a kid and it shaped the way I look at archeology

Motel of the Mysteries

I have that book! Motel of the Mysteries, 1979, David Macaulay. Very funny.

https://www.amazon.com/Motel-Mysteries-David-Macaulay/dp/0395284252

Maybe it's Motel of the Mysteries!

There is a satirical book called the Motel of the Mysteries that is written from the perspective of some future archaeologist who is excavating a cheap motel that was buried like the ruins of Pompeii. They try to assign some kind of deep significance to nearly everything they find. My favorite illustration is of a toilet seat that they thought was religious headgear of some kind.

If I can piggyback on here with a second level, non-historian comment, <em>Motel of the Mysteries</em> by David Macaulay of <em>Castle</em>, <em>City</em>, and <em>Cathedral</em> fame is a hilarious short book - filled with Macaulay's illustrations - entirely about the premise of a future amateur archaeologist in 4022 trying to make sense of artifacts from the current day. Definitely worth your attention if you like his other works! (And really, why wouldn't you?)

https://www.amazon.com/Motel-Mysteries-David-Macaulay/dp/0395284252/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=

You might like Motel of the Mysteries. It's a hilarious satire addressing that problem.

Someone's beaten you to that.

Motel of the Mysteries

You would like Motel of the Mysteries.

You should read Motel of the Mysteries.

Here's more fun in this same vein: http://www.amazon.com/Motel-Mysteries-David-Macaulay/dp/0395284252

Have you ever read this book?

Oh, and in response to your last point, take a look at David Macaulay's Motel of the Mysteries.

Perhaps. More on the subject.

Are you familiar with Motel of the Mysteries?

The second one sounds like Motel of the Mysteries.

But do not miss his most hilarious book: Motel of the Mysteries! Classic!

You might enjoy <em>Motel of the Mysteries</em>.

THAT WOULD BE SO EPIC!!!! :D

But seriously, who knows? Much of our knowledge has been lost to the sands of time... what if someone saw remnants of our civilization 2,000 years from now? Would they think our roller coasters are trains to nowhere built in honor of our god Lincoln, around whose time the railroad started becoming a major part of our life? Would they think our water slides and pools were aqueducts and reservoirs used to supply water to a community, many of the largest of which had said rail shrines located nearby? Would they think our hotels were crypts of our kings and leaders?

Motel of the Mysteries is a good book that thinks about the same question.