60 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About New York City
Basically,
you’re always walking over thousands of dead bodies. posted on March 20,
2014 at 1:35pm EDT
Matt Stopera BuzzFeed
Staff
1.
Pinball was banned
in the city until 1978. The NYPD even held “Prohibition-style” busts.
2. It is a misdemeanor to fart in NYC churches.
3. It costs $1 million to get a license (medallion) to operate a taxicab.
4. The first pizzeria in the United States was opened in NYC in 1895.
5. In 1857, toilet paper was invented by Joseph C. Gayetty in NYC.
6. The Jewish population in NYC is the largest in the world outside of Israel.
7. Up until World War II, everyone in the entire city who was moving apartments had to move on May 1.
2. It is a misdemeanor to fart in NYC churches.
3. It costs $1 million to get a license (medallion) to operate a taxicab.
4. The first pizzeria in the United States was opened in NYC in 1895.
5. In 1857, toilet paper was invented by Joseph C. Gayetty in NYC.
6. The Jewish population in NYC is the largest in the world outside of Israel.
7. Up until World War II, everyone in the entire city who was moving apartments had to move on May 1.
8.
The city of New York will pay for
a one-way plane ticket for any homeless person if they have a guaranteed place
to stay.
9. There’s a man who mines sidewalk cracks for gold. He can make over $600 a week.
10. According to New York City’s Office of Emergency Management, the last hurricane to pass directly over the city was in 1821. The storm surge was so high that the city was flooded up to Canal Street.
11. Hog Island, a one-mile-long island south of Rockaway Beach, was never seen again after the hurricane of 1893.
12. New York City’s leading hurricane historian, Nicholas Coch, a professor of coastal geology at Queens College, believes that this is the only reported incidence ever of the removal of an entire island by a hurricane.
9. There’s a man who mines sidewalk cracks for gold. He can make over $600 a week.
10. According to New York City’s Office of Emergency Management, the last hurricane to pass directly over the city was in 1821. The storm surge was so high that the city was flooded up to Canal Street.
11. Hog Island, a one-mile-long island south of Rockaway Beach, was never seen again after the hurricane of 1893.
12. New York City’s leading hurricane historian, Nicholas Coch, a professor of coastal geology at Queens College, believes that this is the only reported incidence ever of the removal of an entire island by a hurricane.
Via
en.wikipedia.org
13.
Up until 1957, there was a pneumatic mail tube system that was
used to connect 23 post offices across 27 miles. At one point, it moved
97,000 letters a day.
14.
Albert Einstein’s eyeballs are stored
in a safe deposit box in the city.
15. There are tiny shrimp called copepods in NYC’s drinking water.
16. On Nov. 28, 2012, not a single murder, shooting, stabbing, or other incident of violent crime in NYC was reported for an entire day. The first time in basically ever.
17. There’s a wind tunnel near the Flat Iron building that can raise women’s skirts. Men used to gather outside of the Flat Iron building to watch.
15. There are tiny shrimp called copepods in NYC’s drinking water.
16. On Nov. 28, 2012, not a single murder, shooting, stabbing, or other incident of violent crime in NYC was reported for an entire day. The first time in basically ever.
17. There’s a wind tunnel near the Flat Iron building that can raise women’s skirts. Men used to gather outside of the Flat Iron building to watch.
Via
mcnyblog.org
18.
About 1 in
every 38 people living in the United States resides in New York City.
19. New York City has more people than 39 of the 50 states in the U.S.
20. There is a birth in New York City every 4.4 minutes.
21. There is a death in New York City every 9.1 minutes.
22. The borough of Brooklyn on its own would be the fourth largest city in the United States. Queens would also rank fourth nationally.
23. New York City has the largest Chinese population of any city outside of Asia.
24. New York has the largest Puerto Rican population of any city in the world.
25. PONY stands for Product of New York.
19. New York City has more people than 39 of the 50 states in the U.S.
20. There is a birth in New York City every 4.4 minutes.
21. There is a death in New York City every 9.1 minutes.
22. The borough of Brooklyn on its own would be the fourth largest city in the United States. Queens would also rank fourth nationally.
23. New York City has the largest Chinese population of any city outside of Asia.
24. New York has the largest Puerto Rican population of any city in the world.
25. PONY stands for Product of New York.
26.
In 1920, a horse-drawn carriage filled with
explosives was detonated on Wall Street killing 30 people. No one was ever
caught, and it is considered to be one of the first acts of domestic terrorism.
27. In nine years, Madison Square Garden’s lease will run out and it will have to move.
28. UPS, FedEx, and other commercial delivery companies receive up to 7,000 parking tickets a DAY, contributing up to $120 million in revenue for the city of New York.
29. It can cost over $289,000 for a one-year hot dog stand permit in Central Park.
27. In nine years, Madison Square Garden’s lease will run out and it will have to move.
28. UPS, FedEx, and other commercial delivery companies receive up to 7,000 parking tickets a DAY, contributing up to $120 million in revenue for the city of New York.
29. It can cost over $289,000 for a one-year hot dog stand permit in Central Park.
The
New York Times / Via nytimes.com
30.
Sixty percent of cigarettes sold
in NYC are illegally smuggled from other states.
31. There was one homicide on 9/11, and it remains unsolved.
32. There are “fake” buildings in the city that are used for subway maintenance and ventilation. The building below in the middle, located in Brooklyn, has a fake facade. There is no brownstone within.
31. There was one homicide on 9/11, and it remains unsolved.
32. There are “fake” buildings in the city that are used for subway maintenance and ventilation. The building below in the middle, located in Brooklyn, has a fake facade. There is no brownstone within.
Google
Maps
33.
Chernobyl is closer
to New York than Fukushima is to L.A.
34. There are more undergrad and graduate students in NYC than Boston has people.
35. New York City’s 520-mile coastline is longer than those of Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco combined.
36. The Empire State building has its own zip code.
37. The East River is not a river, it’s a tidal estuary.
38. There is a secret train platform in the Waldorf Astoria hotel.
34. There are more undergrad and graduate students in NYC than Boston has people.
35. New York City’s 520-mile coastline is longer than those of Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco combined.
36. The Empire State building has its own zip code.
37. The East River is not a river, it’s a tidal estuary.
38. There is a secret train platform in the Waldorf Astoria hotel.
Charles
Mostoller / Barcroft Media / Getty Images
39.
When the Dutch first arrived to Manhattan, there were massive
oyster beds. In fact, Ellis Island and Liberty Island were called Little
Oyster and Big Oyster Island.
40. McSorley’s, the oldest Irish ale house in NYC, didn’t allow women inside until 1970.
41. Madison Square Park, Washington Square Park, Union Square Park, and Bryant Park used to be cemeteries.
42. There are 20,000 bodies buried in Washington Square Park alone.
43. The original Penn Station was considered to be one of the most beautiful train stations in the world but was torn down because of declining rail usage.
40. McSorley’s, the oldest Irish ale house in NYC, didn’t allow women inside until 1970.
41. Madison Square Park, Washington Square Park, Union Square Park, and Bryant Park used to be cemeteries.
42. There are 20,000 bodies buried in Washington Square Park alone.
43. The original Penn Station was considered to be one of the most beautiful train stations in the world but was torn down because of declining rail usage.
Ewing
Galloway/Hulton Archive / Getty Images
44.
NYC garbage collectors call
maggots “disco rice.”
45. In 2010, 38% of all 911 calls in NYC were butt dials.
46. Times Square is named after the New York Times. It was originally called Longacre Square until 1904 when the NYT moved there.
47. The entire world’s population could fit in the state of Texas if it were as densely populated as New York City.
48. In 1975, the city of New York sold a private island in the East River for $10.
45. In 2010, 38% of all 911 calls in NYC were butt dials.
46. Times Square is named after the New York Times. It was originally called Longacre Square until 1904 when the NYT moved there.
47. The entire world’s population could fit in the state of Texas if it were as densely populated as New York City.
48. In 1975, the city of New York sold a private island in the East River for $10.
Courtesy
of the NYC Audubon / Via tpl.org
49.
The winter of 1780 was so harsh in New York that New York harbor froze over.
People could
walk from Manhattan to Staten Island on the ice.
50. From 1904 to 1948 there was an 18th Street station on the 4/5/6 line. It’s abandoned now, but you can still see it on local 6 trains.
50. From 1904 to 1948 there was an 18th Street station on the 4/5/6 line. It’s abandoned now, but you can still see it on local 6 trains.
Via
en.wikipedia.org
51.
The narrowest house in NYC is in the West Village: 75 1/2 Bedford Street is
just over 9 feet wide.
Via
en.wikipedia.org
52.
In 1906, the Bronx Zoo put
an African man on exhibit in the monkey house.
53. Credit card minimums ARE legal in the city. In 2010, Congress passed a law saying up to a $10 minimum was legal.
54. It would cost about $17,000 to take a cab from NYC to L.A.
55. In 1922, there was a Straw Hat Riot. It was an unofficial rule in NYC that straw hats weren’t allowed to be worn past Sept. 15, but some unruly kids started snatching people’s hats a few days before that causing an uprising that lasted a few days.
56. Eating a New York bagel is equivalent to eating one-quarter to one-half a loaf of bread.
57. NYC buries its unclaimed bodies on an island off the coast of the Bronx called Hart Island. Since 1869, nearly a million bodies have been buried there. The island is not open to the public.
53. Credit card minimums ARE legal in the city. In 2010, Congress passed a law saying up to a $10 minimum was legal.
54. It would cost about $17,000 to take a cab from NYC to L.A.
55. In 1922, there was a Straw Hat Riot. It was an unofficial rule in NYC that straw hats weren’t allowed to be worn past Sept. 15, but some unruly kids started snatching people’s hats a few days before that causing an uprising that lasted a few days.
56. Eating a New York bagel is equivalent to eating one-quarter to one-half a loaf of bread.
57. NYC buries its unclaimed bodies on an island off the coast of the Bronx called Hart Island. Since 1869, nearly a million bodies have been buried there. The island is not open to the public.
58.
There’s a 150-foot-deep
hole (15 stories) on Park Avenue between 36th and 37th streets.
59. The price of a slice of pizza and the cost of a single ride on the subway has been nearly equal for the past 50 years.
60. The scary nitrogen gas tanks you see on the corners of streets are used to keep underground telephone wires dry.
59. The price of a slice of pizza and the cost of a single ride on the subway has been nearly equal for the past 50 years.
60. The scary nitrogen gas tanks you see on the corners of streets are used to keep underground telephone wires dry.
LO
Via
Flickr:
nep
2 comments:
Seriously who gives a rat's ass about this................what a waste of space..........or was it meant to be a DISTRACTION , very disappointed , is this an example of your new look web site.............?
Thanks for the NYC facts. Sometimes a respite is needed from all the world's drama. One can always scroll past what's not valued. I do a lot of scrolling!
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