New Yorkers don't understand these 12 things in the city, but hesitate to ask
'03.12.2020'
Vita Popova
Even if you've lived in New York City your entire life, there are things in the city that you can't explain. In this post, we answer questions that many New Yorkers would like to ask but are shy about. The selection was shared by the publication Time-out.
- Why are the street signs different colors?
The answer lies in New York's past. In the 1970s, street signs in Queens were blue on a white background, in Brooklyn they were white on a green background, and in Staten Island and Manhattan they were green on a yellow background.
In the 1980s, the rules were enshrined in a special decree. Since then, all roadside signs began to use white letters on a green background, and for designated historic streets, white on brown.
However, from time to time you may notice an old or green sign with the Statue of Liberty, dating back to 1986, when the monument turned 100 years old.
- What is this giant countdown clock in Union Square?
Union Square is home to a massive 15-digit digital clock familiar to many New Yorkers. For over 20 years this metronome has been one of the most famous and obscure projects in the field of public art. For years, passers-by assumed that he was measuring something other than time. For example, how many acres of rainforest are destroyed annually, the number of people on the planet, some have even suggested that the numbers on the screen have to do with Pi.
On the subject: Famous New York clock counts down to the end of the world
So what is this clock and how does it measure time? The first seven digits explain what time is counted from midnight, and the last eight digits explain how much time is left until midnight. The middle digit represents one hundredth of a second. Thus, if the clock reads 202126574333803, then the first 7 digits mean that it is 20 hours, 21 minutes and 26,5 seconds after midnight, or 8:21: 26.1 pm, while the last 7 digits mean that it is 33,4 , 34 seconds, 3 minutes and XNUMX hours to midnight.
- How does Select Bus work?
Select Bus service is an urban form of express bus service designed to improve public transit speeds in New York City. It differs from the regular bus service in that you pay at the station, so that each person does not have to pay at the time of boarding, slowing down the movement of the bus.
After paying for the fare, you will be given a receipt - you need to keep it, because without it you can be fined. SBS lines also have dedicated bus lanes, which gives buses priority at traffic lights.
- Why is the arrival time indicated only on numbered trains?
Several metro systems once existed. The numbered trains (and S trains) were part of the old system, which is now designated the A Division. These lines have built-in signaling technology, which makes it possible to more accurately read how far the trains are, while the numbered trains in Division B operate on a different system.
- Where can I get a green taxi?
Green taxis, officially called Boro Taxi, are a government program designed to provide transportation between five boroughs - Manhattan (only northwest Manhattan above 110th and northeast above 96th street), the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.
- What is this liquid dripping from air conditioners?
Most of the droplets from air conditioners are condensed water vapor from the air inside the building. In rare cases, water can remain inside the air conditioner for a long time, causing bacteria to grow in it. So don't look up with your mouth open.
- What are the statues at the top of the Brooklyn Museum?
Strange, but these figures are completely unrelated to the names of famous people located directly below them. Daniel Chester French designed the building in 1909 and installed 12 figures that represent different stages in the history of civilization. For example, Ancient Greece or Imperial Rome, and not a specific person.
- Why is Times Square called "the plaza"? It actually has the shape of a bow tie.
Unlike Union Square or Madison Square, Times Square is essentially just a glorified intersection. Located at the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, it is a must-see destination for anyone visiting the Big Apple for the first time. Therefore, the area "the crossroads of the world", as Times Square is often called, is called so because of the large flow of tourists. More than 300 thousand people pass through this place every day.
On the subject: Why Broadway attracts tourists: interesting facts about the longest street in New York
- Why are there holes in MetroCards?
When you swipe your card to get on the subway, this little hole helps the card reader know which direction the card is being swiped in order to read it. If he does not find a hole in the right place, then he realizes that the map is being drawn in the wrong direction.
- Coney Island is not an island. Then why do New Yorkers call it an island?
Because it was originally an island separated from the rest of Brooklyn by Coney Island Creek. Coney Island Creek was a continuous strait 4,8 km long. It connected Gravesend and Sheepshead Bays, making Coney Island a true island. But the eastern half of the stream was backfilled for the construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1962.
- Are pigeons really carriers? diseases?
Unfortunately yes. Pigeons are carriers of hundreds of pathogens of various bacterial, viral, fungal, protozoal and helminthic diseases, some of which are deadly. The most common diseases in humans are histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, and psittacosis.
The first two are fungal diseases and pose a risk only at very high levels of exposure; symptoms may include fatigue, fever, and chest pain. Psittacosis is a bacterial disease that is quite rare in humans - up to one case per year.
- What does pending evaluation really mean?
If you see a rating pending sign on the door outside the restaurant, pay attention. This means that the restaurant did not receive a "five" at the city medical examination. In this case, he is given the opportunity to continue to work, but by hanging the "Assessment pending" sign on the window until the place passes the test again and receives a higher score.
