Trivia: The Biggest Chains in New York City

All right, assuming you named the ten busiest subway stations in the city, we have another one for you.  Can you name the ten largest retailers in New York by the number of outlets?

(We found this while perusing the new edition of the Encyclopedia of New York City, although the numbers--from the Center for an Urban Future--are from July 2008, two months before the economy collapsed, so they are possibly a bit outdated.)  FOR AN UPDATED 2010 LIST SEE OUR FEBRUARY 6 ENTRY.

Our Busiest Subway Stations

Start off your week with a Trivia Challenge from the last issue of Time Out New York. 

Can you name the ten busiest stations in the New York City subway system? 

Since there are 468 stations, I'll help narrow it down--the ten busiest are all in Manhattan.

Trivia Question: What Turned 40 on Saturday?

What New York icons were first distributed to museumgoers on January 1, 1971?

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #11

That last question was too easy--basically a review of the previous questions--so here's one to wrap up this series:

Name the ten cities that are predicted to be the most populous in the 2010 census.  (Hint:  Nine were also in the 2000 census; Detroit will likely be bumped out by a city in California.)

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #10

What are the four American cities that ranked #2 behind New York from 1790 until 2000?  (That number should hold for 2010.)

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #9

Since the 1790 census, New York's population has steadily risen or exploded from decade to decade.  Only twice did it ever decrease.  What are those two decades?  (Hint:  In the first decline, the city lost only one hundred thousand residents.  In the second, and much worse, New York lost almost one million.) 

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #8

What year's census was the last to see Baltimore in the Top Ten?

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #7

In 1890, what fast-growing city became the third city to reach #2?

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #6

What population barrier was New York the first to surpass in the 1880 census?

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #5

What city reached #3 in 1860 with 266,661?  (Hint:  It would later be absorbed into a larger city.)

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #4

In 1840, what southern city's population exploded, doubling its number from the previous census and joining New York and Baltimore with over 100,000 residents?

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #3

What city in 1830 became only the second city to reach #2, surpassing Philadelphia, and remaining America's second city until the 1860 census?

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #2

In what census did New York City become the first American city to surpass 100,000 residents?

Answer after the jump.

Census Trivia #1: "23" on the Horizon

New York has been the most populous city since the first census was taken in 1790 when our federal government was brand new and our city boasted only 33,131 residents. 

Unless there's a major surprise in this year's census, New York will be the largest city in America for the twenty-third consecutive time.

Today's question:  What is the only other American city that has appeared with New York in the Top Ten in every census from 1790 to 2000?

Answer after the jump.

Trivia Question: More Stores Than the Gap

What is the world's largest clothing retailer?

Manhattan is home to six of these stores as well as the corporate offices for their U.S. division.  Globally, there are 4000 of these stores in 70 countries, having overtaken the Gap in 2008.

Trivia from Doug Nervik

There is a roadway in New York which has three different names. Each of the three names contains an 'X'. What is this road?

Yesterday in Big Apple History

What major NYC structure celebrated its centennial yesterday? 

Hint:  Technically, it opened on December 31st, but who wants to walk across this thing in winter?

Answer (and a fantastic photo) after the jump.

Today in Big Apple History

Today, in 1916, a transplanted New Yorker became America's first billionaire.

Who was he?

Hint:  He is the only individual in the world who amassed a personal fortune (in today's dollars) that exceeded $300 billion.

Little Bytes Quiz: The 20th Century at St. John the Divine...Who Are the Big Four?

On the altar rail at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, there is a series of carved figures representing the last two millennia with each century embodied by a different person.  Examples:

1400's--Christopher Columbus

1500's--Galileo

1600's--Shakespeare

1700's--George Washington

1800's--Abraham Lincoln

What FOUR figures represent the twentieth century??  Hint:  at last, there's a WOMAN!  Answers after the jump.

Oscar Trivia

On Sunday, the 22nd, I was an emcee at an Oscar party at Etcetera Etcetera (44th between Eighth and Ninth).  During the dinner and commercial breaks, I was responsible for the trivia that challenged the chewers.  Tidying up my apartment this morning, I came across my notes and thought I'd pose a few questions for you.  (Answers after the jump.)

1.  What individual has won the most Oscars?  (This person won 26 [4 honorary], was nominated for 59, and holds the record as well for consecutive years nominated [22 years in a row]!!!!)

2.  What country has the most nominations for Best Foreign Language Film? (34)

3.  What country has the most wins for Best Foreign Language Film? (13)

4.  What writer has been nominated for more Oscars than any other?  (14)

5.  Name one of only THREE women ever to be nominated for Best Director.

6.  What was the first movie in color to win Best Picture?

7.  What was the last movie in black and white to win Best Picture?

8.  Of all the movie musicals, which won the most Oscars?  (10)

8.5.  Since Etcetera Etcetera is between Eighth and Ninth, I'll ask this question, technically question #9 but tied to question #8:  Who is the only director to win Best Director for the only film he ever directed?

Trivia Question: 75 Years of Amateur Night at the Apollo

Last week, the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem held a 75th anniversary celebration for its famous Amateur Night, which premiered in 1934.  The theater opened in 1914 as the Hurtig and Seamon's New Burlesque Theater, which admitted only white audiences.  In 1934, under new ownership, that policy changed and a show premiered that permitted audiences to boo amateur acts that didn't live up to their exectations.

My favorite story has to do with one of the first winners from that same year.  Orphaned at the age of 15, she escaped various state institutions and was living on the street when, on November 21st, she went to the Apollo to dance.  The act preceding hers, the Edwards Sisters, was one of Harlem's most famous dance duos; intimidated, the seventeen-year-old decided to sing instead.  She sang Judy and The Object of My Affection and won first prize.  Almost immediately, she began to work with bandleader Chick Webb on a journey that would make hers one of the most famous voices of the twentieth century.

NAME THAT SINGER!

This Week's Quiz--Our Largest Parks

1--What is the largest park in Manhattan?  (This is too easy...name the second and third largest.)

2--What is the largest park in the Bronx?

3--What is the largest park in Queens?

4--What is the largest park in Staten Island?

5--What is the largest park in Brooklyn?

6--In what three boroughs can you can find a park exceeding 1000 acres?

7--Which borough has the most acreage of parkland?

8--Where does Central Park rank in the city's largest parks?

9--What park is pictured?  Where is it located?  (Hint:  It has the largest public garden with unrestricted access in the city.)

This Week's Quiz: Names, Opera, and Skyscrapers

Santa recently brought me the Almanac of New York City which is filled with facts that I find FASCINATING and which I will be flinging at all incoming groups and plastering all over this blog.  For today, a potluck quiz of miscelleny:

--What is clearly the most popular name for boy babies in New York City?  (The Almanac gives the years 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, and 1997-2005 and this name ranks first every single time.)

--What is the most frequently performed work at the Metropolitan Opera?

--What are the three best attended cultural institutions in the five boroughs?  Hint:  These were the only institutions with more than 1 million attendees in the year 2003.  (2003?  This almanac came out this year and the most recent records are from 2003?)

--Of the many skyscrapers we have in the city, which are the only four taller than 1000 feet?

Trivia: Today in Big Apple History

Who was sold December 26, 1919 in one of the most famous trades in the history of professional sports?

Trivia: Today in Big Apple History

What famous New York City water crossing opened for traffic today in 1937?

What famous shooting took place today in 1984?