Oobi was a toy, invented in the 60's, with hollow interior for a note and as space on the exterior for an address. The idea was that Oobi would be loaded with a note and left in a public place where a stranger would find it and, assuming they were kind and headed in the right direction, carry Oobi toawrds the address written on the exterior. Unfortunately Oobi was not popular during trials and never reached full production. You can read much more about the original Oobi here.
More recently, Toronto street artist Posterchild created his own oobi-like experiment. New Mexico artist Matt Bohnhoff decided to create the Newbie Oobi Project to test, for himself, the viability of oobi messaging systems. The project creates oobi in new shapes and sizes and track their success rates as they travel toward a variety of destinations.
There are a number of primary characteristics to be considered during oobi design. Like the original oobi, newbie oobi benefit from bright coloring to attract the eye of potential rides. Oobi also need to be small enough to not be a burden while large enough to both hold a note and not get lost. Newbie oobi should be weather resistant and made from recycle materials if possible.
If you have found one of our newbie oobi in the wild, please click here.