Facts About New York City

Cool Facts About New York City

New York City is one of the most amazing cities in the world.  Here are some interesting facts about this great city!


In 1626, the Dutch purchased Manhattan Island from the Lenape Native Americans for 60 guilders (about $1000).
The English conquered the city from the Dutch in 1664, and “New Amsterdam” became “New York.”
In 1698, New York City only had a population of 4,937 people.
New York City served as the capital of the United States in the 1780s before it was moved to Philadelphia and then Washington D.C.
George Washington, the first President of the United States, was inaugurated in New York in 1789 at the site of Federal Hall.
Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street was the the site of the first Capitol Building of the United States.

The Bill of Rights which contained the first 10 amendments to the Constitution was passed at Federal Hall.
It wasn’t until 1790 that New York City grew larger than Philadelphia.
New York City is now the most populated city in the USA with more than 8.2 million people.
Hong Kong is the only city in the world with more completedskyscrapers than New York City.

36% of the current population of New York City was born outside the United States.
Since 2005, New York City has the lowest crime rate of the 25 largest US cities, and one of the safest cities in the US overall.
The New York subway system is the largest mass transit system in the world with 468 stations and 842 miles (1355 km) of track.

Photo of the NYC Subway © Antonio Bonanno
Unlike most major subways systems around the world, the New York Subway runs 24 hours a day.
About 40% of the New York Subway system is above ground.
The first underground section of the Subway was opened in 1904.
The musicians who perform in the NYC Subway system have to go through a competitive audition process — some of the subway musicians have also played at Carnegie Hall.
The Holland Tunnel, which connects NYC with New Jersey, was completed in 1927 and is one of the first ventilated tunnels in the world.  The ventilation system was needed to clear out vehicle exhaust and carbon monoxide generated by the automobiles passing through.

Photo of the Holland Tunnel © Aude
The Holland Tunnel is a designated National Historic Landmark.
Almost 35 million vehicles pass through the Holland Tunnel each year.
The New York City Marathon is the largest in the world, with 37,850 finishers in 2006.
Central Park attracts 25 million visitors per year.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (“The Met”) contains over 2 million works, making it one of the largest art museums in the world.
The Met contains one the most comprehensive collection of Asian art in the West.

New York City has 4000 street food vendors including hot dogs, pretzels, falafel, kebobs, and more.

Amazing Facts of the Human Body

Amazing Facts of the Human Body

• Our heart beats around 100,00 times every day.
• Our blood is on a 60,000-mile journey.
• Our eyes can distinguish up to one million colour surfaces and take in more information than the largest telescope known to man.
• Our lungs inhale over two million litres of air every day, without even thinking. They are large enough to cover a tennis court.
• Our hearing is so sensitive it can distinguish between hundreds of thousands of different sounds.
• Our sense of touch is more refined than any device ever created.
• Our brain is more complex than the most powerful computer and has over 100 billion nerve cells.
• We give birth to 100 billion red cells every day.
• When we touch something, we send a message to our brain at 124 mph.
• We have over 600 muscles.
• We exercise at least 30 muscles when we smile.
• We are about 70 percent water.
• We make one litre of saliva a day.
• Our nose is our personal air-conditioning system: it warms cold air, cools hot air and filters impurities.
• In one square inch of our hand we have nine feet of blood vessels, 600 pain sensors, 9000 nerve endings, 36 heat sensors and 75 pressure sensors.
• We have copper, zinc, cobalt, calcium, manganese, phosphates, nickel and silicon in our bodies.

Amazing shots from 1900

Amazing shots from 1900 

A company does HD photo restorations of vintage pics from the Library of Congress. Pictures from various states from the late 1800's, amazing shots of life back then.

Here are some of the amazing results!

1900 | Scranton , Pennsylvania . " Delaware , Lackawanna , and Western Railroad yards"
002 | 1862 | On the James River in Virginia . "Effect of Confederate shot on Federal ironclad Galena " | James F. Gibson
003 | 1864 | " James River , Virginia . Double-turreted monitor U.S.S. Onondaga, soldiers in rowboat"
004 | 1865 | " City Point , Virginia (vicinity). Medical supply boat Planter at General Hospital wharf on the Appomattox "
005 | 1890 | Florida . "Brown's Landing, Rice Creek"
006 | 1896 | U.S.S. New York . "Group of sailors" | Edward Hart
007 | 1897 | "Commodore H.M. Gillig's racing sloop Vencedor on Lake Erie " | John S. Johnston
008 | 1897 | "Berth deck cooks, U.S.S. Oregon" | Edward H. Hart
009 | 1897 | "U.S.S. Massachusetts, fire room" Tending the battleship's coal-fired boilers. | Edward H. Hart
010 | 1898 | "U.S.S. Oregon in dry dock, Brooklyn Navy Yard"
011 | 1899 | "Berth deck cooks aboard cruiser U.S.S. Brooklyn" | Edward H. Hart
012 | 1900 | "U.S. Battleship Texas, chief petty officers" | Edward H. Hart
013 | 1900 | Chicago . "12th Street Bascule Bridge "
014 | 1900 | Charlevoix , Michigan . "Harbor entrance and light house"
015 | 1900 | "Car ferry 'Transport' entering slip, Detroit River "
016 | 1900 | Florida . "A landing on the Tomoka" | William Henry Jackson
017 | 1900 | "A bit of country life near Henryville , Pennsylvania â€" making soap"
018 | 1900 | " Brooklyn Bridge , East River "
019 | 1900 | New Jersey circa. "Bergen Tunnel, east end"
020 | 1900 | Chicago . "A walk in Lincoln Park "
021 | 1900 | Buffalo , New York . "Labor Day parade, Main Street "
022 | 1900 | "U.S.S. Oregon quarterdeck" | Edward H. Hart
023 | 1900 | "U.S.S. Chicago. One of the crew"
024 | 1901 | Buffalo , New York . "Unloading ore from whaleback carrier"
025 | 1901 | "Hanging rock on the Susquehanna near Danville , Pennsylvania "
026 | 1901 | Petoskey , Michigan . "Grand Rapids & Indiana R.R. station"
027 | 1901 | Detroit . "Excursion steamers Tashmoo and Idlewild at wharves"
028 | 1901 | Colorado . "Station and hotel, summit of Pike's Peak "
029 | 1902 | "A happy family"
030 | 1902 | Iowa . "Chicago & North Western Railway â€" steel viaduct over Des Moines River " | William Henry Jackson
031 | 1903 | New York . "Brooklyn Terminal at Brooklyn Bridge "
032 | 1903 | "S.S. Proteus. High water at New Orleans levee"
033 | 1903 | "Unloading bananas at New Orleans , Louisiana "
034 | 1904 | The Jersey Shore . "Steeplechase Pier and bathers, Atlantic City "
035 | 1904 | " Michigan Central Railroad. Oiling up before the start"
036 | 1904 | New York . "The Ponies, Coney Island "
037 | 1905 | St. Clair , Michigan . "Launch of steamer Frank J. Hecker"
038 | 1905 | St. Augustine , Florida . "They were on their honeymoon"
039 | 1905 | Coney Island , New York . "Surf bathing"
040 | 1905> | The New Jersey shore. "Boardwalk and beach, Asbury Park "
041 | 1905 | Cleveland , Ohio . " Cuyahoga River from the Viaduct"
042 | 1905 | Buffalo , New York . "Jack-Knife Bridge, City Ship Canal , foot of Michigan Street "
043 | 1905 | The Detroit River . "Transfer steamer Detroit in the ice"
044 | 1905 | Houghton , Michigan . "Loading copper on steamer Juniata "
045 | 1905 | Buffalo , New York . "Looking up Main Street . Steamer North Land at Long Wharf "
046 | 1905 | "A winter morning"
047 | 1905 | Knoxville , Tennessee . " Gay Street looking north from Clinch Avenue "
048 | 1905 | Hot Springs , Arkansas . "Roadway through the pines"
049 | 1905 | Chicago . "The bridge, Lincoln Park "
050 | 1906 | " Mississippi River Landing"
051 | 1906 | Birmingham , Alabama . " Second Avenue looking east"
052 | 1906 | Gulfport , Mississippi . "Steamer loading resin"
053 | 1906 | Wequetonsing , Michigan . "The birches and the bay"
054 | 1906 | Circa. "Banana docks, New York "
055 | 1906 | "Railroad station, Magnolia, Massachusetts "
056 | 1907 | Detroit . "Band concert on Grand Canal, Belle Isle Park "
057 | 1907 | "The Brooklyn Bridge Promenade and Manhattan Terminal"
058 | 1907 | Chicago , Illinois . " Jackknife Bridge , Chicago River " | Hans Behm
059 | 1907 | Chicago , Illinois . " Jackknife Bridge , Chicago River " | Hans Behm
060 | 1907 | Savannah , Georgia . "The whole black family at the Hermitage"
061 | 1908 | New York . " Times Square " The old New York Times building, now encased in billboards, Hotel Astor and various theaters seen from Broadway.
062 | 1908 | Detroit . "Waders at Belle Isle Park "
063 | 1908 | Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . "Nixon Theatre, Sixth Avenue & Cherry Alley"
064 | 1908 | "Suburban station, Petoskey , Michigan "
065 | 1908 | New York . "Pompeiian Room â€" Hotel Seneca"
066 | 1908 | New York . " Cortlandt Street "
067 | 1908 | St. Paul , Minn. " Robert Street "
068 | 1908 | "Arch bridge, Bellows Falls , Vermont "
069 | 1909 | Apalachicola , Florida
070 | 1909 | New York . "Crew of Peary arctic ship Roosevelt "
071 | 1909 | Hartford , Conn. "Newsgirls coming through the alley"
072 | 1909 | Philadelphia . "Valley Green, Fairmount Park "
073 | 1910 | Vicksburg , Mississippi . "Unloading cotton at the levee"
074 | 1910 | Memphis , Tennessee . "River packet Charles H. Organ landing at Mound City "
075 | 1910 | New York . "Pennsylvania Station, track level, showing stairway and elevators"
076 | 1910 | The Jersey Shore . "Steel Pier, Atlantic City "
077 | 1910 | New York . " Manhattan Bridge and East River from Brooklyn "
078 | 1910 | The Chicago River . "Pere Marquette transfer boat 18 passing State Street bridge"
079 | 1910 | Salem , Massachusetts . " Boston and Maine Railroad depot, Riley Plaza "
080 | 1910 | Daytona Beach , Florida . " South Ridgewood Avenue "
081 | 1910 | "Bathing at West Palm Beach , Florida "
082 | 1910 | Chicago . "Around a bubbling cup, Lincoln Park "
083 | 1910 | The Jersey Shore . "On the beach at Atlantic City "
084 | 1911 | New York . "White Star liner S.S. Olympic guided by tugboats Kirkham and Admiral"
085 | 1911 | Washington , D.C. "Senorita Lenore Riviero with Antony Jannus in Rex Smith aeroplane"
086 | 1912 | Detroit , Michigan . "Daily river excursion steamers. Sidewheelers Tashmoo, Owana and City of Detroit III at White Star Line dock"
087 | 1912 | Toledo , Ohio . "White Star steamer Owana leaving for Detroit "
088 | 1912 | "Dime Savings Bank and Detroit City Hall "
089 | 1912 | Washington , D.C. "Government Printing Office â€" views" | Harris & Ewing Collection
090 | 1912 | "Neighborhood House kitchen" | Harris & Ewing Collection
091 | 1912 | "German port call. U.S. battleship in Hampton Roads to greet German squadron" | Harris & Ewing Collection
092 | 1914 | Washington , D.C. "Post Office Department â€" parcel post"
093 | 1919 | Washington , D.C. " Alexandria shipyard views" | Harris & Ewing Collection
094 | 1920 | "Shad fishing on the Potomac "
095 | 1920 | Washington , D.C. "People's Drug Store No. 5, 804 8th Street N.E. "
096 | 1921 | Washington , D.C. "Junior high school Home Ec."
097 | 1921 | Washington , D.C. "Mrs. Phil Riley in St. Claire car"
098 | 1922 | Washington , D.C. "Group winners at Tidal Basin bathing beach"
099 | 1922 | Washington , D.C. "Vista of Monument from Lincoln Memorial"
100 | 1924 | Washington , D.C. "Brownley interior"

(http://photosilke.blogspot.com/2013/03/historic-pictures-restored.html?showComment=1372881398427)