New York, New York. It's a crowded place with a glamorous yet savage reputation. But other than all of its tourist attractions and roaming celebrities, how many other facts (helpful and/or useless, but nonetheless interesting) do you really know about the city known as the Big Apple? After digesting these 25 facts about New York City, you'll be hungry for more and quite possibly find the city more interesting than you thought it was before.
1. The city was originally called New Amsterdam.
2. The first pizzeria in the U.S. (called Lombardi's) opened in NYC in 1905.
3. About one in every 38 people living in the United States resides in New York City.
4. There is a birth in NYC every 4.4 minutes.
5. There is a death in NYC every 9.1 minutes.
6. The empire state building has its own zip code (10118).
7. Everyone in the entire city who was moving apartments had to move on May 1 up until World War II.
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. Madison Square Park, Washington Square Park, Union Square Park, and Bryant Park used to be cemeteries (because who wouldn't turn a cemetery into a park, amiright?).
10. Toilet paper was invented by NYC resident Joseph C. Gayetty in 1857.
11. Pinball was banned in the city for over 30 years, and police made Prohibition-style busts.
12. Times Square is named after the New York Times. It was originally called Longacre Square until 1904 when the NYT moved there.
13. Albert Einstein's eyeballs are stored in a safe deposit box in the city.
14. In 1975, the City of New York sold a private island in the East River for $10.
15. Wall Street's name originates from an actual wall that was built there in the 17th century by the Dutch.
16. The city was once the capital of the United States. George Washington was inaugurated as the first president in lower Manhattan.
17. The official name is "The City of New York," not "New York City."
18. Nearly 2 million New Yorkers are under the age of 18.
19. NYC has more people than 40 of the 50 U.S. states.
20. Over 200 languages are spoken in the city.
21. On November 28, 2012, not a single murder, shooting, stabbing or other violent crime was reported for a whole day--the most bloodshed-free 24-hour period in recent history in NYC.
22. NYC's subway system has 469 stations.
23. Tiny shrimp called copepods are in NYC's drinking water.
24. It can cost over $289,000 for a one-year permit to sell hot dogs in Central Park.
25. UPS, FedEx and other commercial delivery companies receive an average of 7,000 parking tickets a day and pay more than $102 million in fines to the city.