Mr. New York's Trivia Quiz
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The Statue of Liberty's height from the top of its torch to the foundation of its pedestal is about: A) 105 feet B) 305 feet C) 605 feet D) 1205 feet B - The 151-foot high Statue of Liberty stands on a 155-foot pedestal. Lady Liberty's weight is over 450,000 pounds and her index finger is eight-feet long. The thickness of the copper covering the statue is 3/32 of an inch, which is less than the thickness of two pennies.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manhattan's N.Y. Public Library at 42nd Street ,the Empire State Building and the Woolworth Building all have this fact in common: A) U.S. Presidents were involved with their opening day ceremonies B) they are all located on 5th Avenue in Manhattan C) all were completed in the same year D) all buildings were once the world's tallest A - On May 1, 1931, President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C. at 11:30 A.M. that switched on the lights within the Empire State Building. At the Woolworth Building's opening ceremony, President Woodrow Wilson pressed a button in Washington which illuminated 80,000 bulbs on the edifice. President William H. Taft attended the opening of the NY Public Library at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue in 1911. The Empire and Woolworth opened as the world's tallest buildings. The Empire and the library are both located on Fifth Avenue. The Woolworth is on Broadway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The worst disaster in NYC history and which caused 1,021 fatalities was the: A) World Trade Center bombing (1993) B) General Slocum steamship fire (1904) C) collapse of the George Washington Bridge (1947) D) the earthquake of 1907 B - The paddlewheel steamer General Slocum was chartered to take the St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church congregation on a picnic cruise. It sailed up the East River from E. 3rd Street in Manhattan with 1,300 passengers (mostly women and children) on June 15, 1904.
The ship caught fire near the rocky shores and strong currents at Hell Gate. Therefore, Captain William Van Schaick ordered full speed ahead in hopes of beaching the ship on the Bronx shore. The life saving equipment proved inadequate and the ship beached on North Brother Island. At least 1,021 people lost their lives and many are buried at Lutheran Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens. The Captain was sentenced to 10 years in prison. After serving a few years he was pardoned by President William Taft. The 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center claimed 6 lives and created havoc. The George Washington Bridge never collapsed and there was no such NY earthquake in 1907. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This NYC location hosted the heavyweight championship fight in March 1971 between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Al A) the Polo Grounds B) Yankee Stadium C) Madison Square Garden D) the Javits Convention Cente C - This fight was considered by many to be one of the greatest fights of all time. Joe Frazier won by a unanimous decision. The Polo Grounds (at 157th Street and the Harlem River in Manhattan) was demolished in 1964. It was the location of the famous Jack Dempsey - Louis Firpo fight in 1923. The Javits Center wasn't built until the early 1980's and Yankee Stadium would have been a bit cold for a March outdoor fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All of the following NY landmarks were the largest or longest of their kind in the world when they opened, except: A) Radio City Music Hall B) the George Washington Bridge C) St. Patrick's Cathedral D) the Holland Tunnel C - The world's largest movie theater, Radio City Musical Hall opened in 1932; the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River was the longest suspension bridge when it opened in 1931; the Holland Tunnel was the largest underwater tunnel in the world when it opened in 1927 and St. Patrick's Cathedral is the largest Catholic Church in the U.S., not the world.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Bronx was named after: A) the Dutch word for "cheer" B) farmer Jonas Bronck C) Connecticut Yankee settlers known as "Bronx bombers" D) the zoo B - Jonas Bronck, a Dutch citizen of Scandanavian origin, in 1639, settled and farmed the land north of Manhattan. The area in and around his large tract of land was commonly referred to as "Bronck's Farm" and eventually "the Bronx". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brooklyn lost this in 1955: A) the Brooklyn Dodgers B) the Brooklyn Bridge C) the Brooklyn Navy Yard D) the Brooklyn Eagle
D - The Brooklyn Eagle newspaper commenced publication in 1841 and continued until its demise in 1955. It was edited for a brief time by Walt Whitman. The newspaper became one of the most popular in the nation. The Brooklyn Dodgers were world champions in 1955; the Brooklyn Navy Yard shut down in 1966 and the dignified bridge still stands. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This parade is the oldest in New York City: A) Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade B) Easter Parade C) Veteran's Day Parade D) St. Patrick's Day Parade D - The first St. Patrick's Day Parade dates back to about 1766. The Ancient Order of Hibernians has been the parade's chief sponsor since the 1850's.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1924 - is a mere child in comparison. The Easter Parade dates back to the 1870's and the Veteran's Day Parade began organized marches in 1918. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This was not an attraction at Coney Island between 1890-1910: A) a Leap Frog Railway B) tenement building fires C) electric bathing D) World War I D - The Leap Frog Railway in 1904 was a ride where two trains traveled toward each other on the same track and one glided over the other. Each car carried bent rails on its back. In the same year, visitors gazed at an attraction called "Fighting the Flames" which featured tenement buildings which caught on fire and were extinguished - twice daily. At Coney Island in the 1890's, electric bathing was popular. Bright lights were placed along the surfline so that beach-goers could bathe at night. -------------------------------------------------------------
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About the Book
Mr. New York’s Trivia Quiz is a unique book that offers hundreds of multiple choice questions ( and answers ) about New York City. There are also True-False questions and List-Matching questions, all interspersed with pictures and charts. The book is not just a fun book, but a learning tool, posing "Triv-Bits" on little known facts about the City. It runs the gamut of subjects: architecture, geography, sports, people, politics, events, and so on. Each of the 38 chapters covers a different aspect of New York. The question and answer format, with pictures and charts and comments, will beguile the reader, who will grasp quickly that Mr. New York’s Trivia Quiz may be too trivial a title for this entertaining tour of the world’s greatest city.
About the Author
John Barbieri, a trial lawyer born and raised in New York City, has become a fanatic about his home town. It all began as he peered at the Manhattan skyline from the windows of his elementary school in Queens. At eight, when some kids still need permission to cross the street, he stole surreptitiously across the Queensboro Bridge and the East River on his bicycle. He had invaded the magic town, and the love affair was on. He bicycled down to his father’s place of business just west of Times Square, to a reprimand from daddy, administered, however, with a twinkle of satisfaction: Daddy and Daddy’s Daddy were New York City buffs, too, and they rejoiced to see the baton passed on so early. John’s bicycle tours continued, reaching a higher plane when he drove a limo to help put himself through law school. Between bike and subway, two legs that trod the nooks and crannies a vehicle couldn’t get to, and two eyes that have devoured everything ever written or displayed about his beloved city -- he and the City of New York have become alter egos. Encouraged by one of his law school professors ( and New York City walking companions), the upshot is this book, a delightful presentation in the form of a variety of questions and answers about the city that John Barbieri -- and his professor and a lot of others -- deem the Capital of the World.