- How many times in your life have you mowed a lawn?
a. Hundreds
b. Hundreds, but not in several years
c. More than once but less than a hundred
d. Once
e. Never - Which of the following do you find the most puzzling and scary?
a. A garbage disposal
b. An automobile
c. A washer-dryer
d. A subway car
e. A pigeon - How often do you go to Walmart, Taco Bell, or Friendly’s?
a. Never
b. Once or twice a year
c. Every month
d. Every weekend
e. Every day Etiquette - Which of the following do you consider most barbaric?
a. Traffic signals
b. Stop signs
c. Alternate-side parking
d. Potholes
e. Right on red - Which of the following is the most unspeakable but common sin you see people doing on the subway?
a. Putting their bag on the seat next to them when it’s not too crowded
b. Leaning against a door when signs all over say “Do Not Lean Against Door”
c. Leaning against a pole in a crowded train
d. Doing a pole dance in a crowded train
e. Eating General Knowledge - For which of the following events or holidays is alternative street parking not suspended?
I – Diwali
II – Orthodox Good Friday
III – Eied
IV – Shavvuot
V – Boxing Day
VI- New York City Marathon
a. I, IV and V only
b. I and VI only
c. II and III only
d. VI only
e. V and VI only - Which two annual events are always scheduled for the same day?
a. SantaCon and National Hangover Remembrance Day
b. New Years and National Hangover Remembrance Day
c. Setting the clocks back and the New York City Marathon
d. Setting the clocks forward and Riverside Park Dog Celebration Day
e. Boxing Day and the installation of the ball in Times Square - What color were the “redbird” subway cars when they last ran on the Seven Line out to Flushing?
a. Who knows? They were too covered with graffiti to see
b. Blue and orange in honor of the Mets
c. Black, so they didn’t have to be cleaned
d. Red
e. White - Which of the following public places has a not-to-be missed public restroom, complete with fresh flowers?
a. Van Cortlandt Park
b. City Hall
c. The Municipal Building
d. Bryant Park
e. The Port Authority - On which subway line are you most likely to see golf clubs?
a. One line
b. Two line
c. A train
d. B train
e. D train - On which subway line are you most likely to see a surfboard?
a. One line
b. Two line
c. A train
d. B train
e. D train History - What “miracle” happened in 1969 immediately after the Mets won their first World Series?
a. A man landed on the moon
b. Richard Nixon went to China
c. The subway fare was rolled back to a quarter
d. The Jets won the Superbowl
e. Mayor Lindsey came from nowhere to win re-election - Which of the following New York City mayors did not run for president?
a. Rudolph Giuliani
b. Ed Koch
c. John Lindsay
d. Michael Bloomberg
e. Bill DeBlasio - Which of the following was Robert Moses not instrumental in helping to get built?
a. The Verrazano Bridge
b. The Cross-Bronx Expressway
c. Kennedy Airport
d. The Metropolitan Opera House
e. The Holland Tunnel - Which of the following subway stations has not been abandoned?
a. East 18th Street
b. West 18th Street
c. The City Hall stop
d. West 91st Street
e. Worth Street Station - What is the most it has ever cost to ride Staten Island Ferry?
a. Trick question – it’s always been free
b. A nickel
c. A dime
d. A quarter for a round-trip
e. Fifty cents for a round-trip - Which monumental law went into effect on August 1, 1978?
a. New York City instituted a ban on right-on-red automobile turns
b. Dogs being off leash was legalized in certain city parks between 9pm and 9am
c. The “pooper scooper” law took effect in NYC, the first such law in a major US city
d. LSD was criminalized
e. The bluebird was voted the New York State bird, despite much cooing among the pigeon lobby Math - Which number comes next in the sequence 14, 34, 42, 59?
a. 66
b. 86
c. 96
d. 125
e. All of the above Sports - Which two New York Yankees swapped their wives in 1973?
a. Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin
b. Horace Clarke and Gene Michael
c. Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich
d. Joe Pepitone and Mel Stottlemyre
e. All of the above - What ended Chuck Knoblauch’s major league career?
a. He lost the ability to throw accurately from second base to first base
b. He got hit in the head
c. He made so much money he said F it and retired
d. He lost the ability to hit a curveball
e. He stormed out when Derick Jeter made fun of his name, which is German for “garlic grower” - Which team was leading when Mookie Wilson hit a ball through Bill Buckner’s legs in Game Six of the 1986 World Series?
a. The Boston Red Sox
b. The New York Mets
c. Neither – the score was tied
d. Bill Buckner did not play in the 1986 World Series
e. It doesn’t matter – the Mets didn’t win the 1986 World Series - Which New York City sports team most recently won the championship in their sports?
a. New York Yankees
b. New York Mets
c. New York Rangers
d. New York Knicks
e. New York Giants - Which New York City team hasn’t won a championship for the longest time?
a. New York Yankees
b. New York Mets
c. New York Rangers
d. New York Knicks
e. New York Giants Nature - Which is the most abundant bird in New York City?
a. European starling
b. European sparrow
c. Seagull
d. Robin
e. Pidgeon - Which of the following common New York City birds will sing at night?
I European starling
II European sparrow
III Northern mockingbird
IV Robin
A. All of the above
B. I only
C. III only
D. III and IV only
E. II, III, and IV only - Which of the following has not been found wild on the island of Manhattan in recent years?
a. Deer
b. Wild turkeys
c. Coyotes
d. Parakeets
e. Alligators
Answers and Discussion
1. The best answer is e but there can be contingencies. Get 25 points for e, 10 points for d, five points for c, 3 points for b, and zero points for a.
2. Garbage disposal is the best answer; NYkers haven’t grown up with one. Get 25 points for a. However b is almost as good – 20 points. Washer-dryers can be puzzling if they are not in the basement laundry room – 5 points for c. There is nothing scary either about subway cars or pigeons. Zero point for either d or e.
3. The best answer is a; but these are hard to avoid outside the city – 25 points. But realistically you can be true to your city and still have b as your answer – 20 points. Get 10 points for d, but zero points for either d or e.
4. The best answer is e – no right on red makes New York City a civilized place to live. 25 points. A difficult maneuver anywhere for a NYker. But c is probably defensible – 15 points. Everything else gets zero points.
5. Answer a is a terrible sin when it’s crowded, but who cares if it’s not? Leaning against the door – b – is an entitlement. Zero points You could make an argument for e – 10 points. The real unforgivable sin here, though is leaning against a pole in a crowded subway – its rude, its clueless, it’s a sign you don’t belong here. 25 points for c.
6. The correct answer is e – 25 points. It’s never suspended for the marathon, because the marathon is always on a Sunday so it’s not in effect in the first place.
7. The correct answer is c – you’d know that if you lived here. 25 points for c. Zero for everything else.
8. This is pretty basic subway knowledge. The correct answer is e – 25 points. Zero points for anything else.
9. Knowing this fact is important in getting around town. Bryant Park – d – has a nice public rest room off 42nd Street by the back of the library. 25 points for d, zero points for anything else.
10. Undoubtedly a – the One Line—which ends at Van Cortlandt Park and its two golf courses. 25 points for a, zero points for any other answer.
11. You will be carrying a surfboard in the subway either to look supremely cool or to go surfing at the Rockaways, the nether reaches of the A train. 25 points for c. No points for other answers.
12. Men landed on the moon in 1969, but that was in July, before the Mets won their first World Series. Similarly, the New York Jets won the Superbowl in January, 1969. We wish it were c. The second miracle of the fall of ’69 was that Mayor Lindsay managed to win re-election because of a split ticket and because all hard feelings were forgotten in aftermath of the Met’s astonishing victory. 25 points for e, zero points for anything else.
13. The correct answer is b. Ed Koch got bogged down in just running for governor. 25 points for a, zero points for anything else.
14. The correct answer is e – 25 points. In 1927 when the Holland Tunnel was completed Moses was still State Parks Commissioner so did not work on that project.
15. The City Hall stop, where the original 1904 subway turned around, and where the Lex locals still turn around but without opening their doors, counts as an abandoned stop. Other stops are called “City Hall” but it’s not The original City Hall stop. There is still a West 18th Street open station. B is correct – 25 points. Zero points for anything else.
16. The Staten Island Ferry has not always been free. It once went up to fifty cents for a round trip. 25 points for e, zero for anything else.
17. We all remember this day – The correct answer is c, the pooper scooper law went into effect. 25 points for c, zero for anything else.
18. Easy if you know the subways. These are the street numbers of the stops of the A train as it heads uptown through Midtown. The next stop – and hence number— is 125. Other lines do not quite match it. The 3 or 4, for example, do stop at 59th Street, while the 4 and 5 do not stop at 34th Street. 25 points for d, zero points for anything else. It can’t be 66 – next stop on the 1—because the 1 has stops between 14th Street and 34th Street.
19. Anybody who knows their baseball history knows it was c, Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich. We like the idea of a (10 points) and also e (15 points). Zero points for b or d.
20. Of course it’s a. 25 points for a, zero points for any other answer.
21. It is often forgotten that the Mets had already tied the score when Buckner had his boner. 25 points for c, no points for any other answer.
22. Hard one because it’s been so long. The correct answer is e, the Giants, who won the Superbowl in 2012. 25 points for e, zero points for anything else.
23. The Knicks last championship was 1973. So 25 points for d, zero points for anything else.
24. Hard one – it is estimated that the most common bird in New York is also a European immigrant, an invasive species. The correct answer is a, the European sparrow. 25 points for a, zero for anything else.
25. If you pay attention you’ll know the answer is mockingbirds and, more commonly, robins. 25 points for d, zero for anything else. I suppose you might hear starlings after hours, but they don’t really sing—they just make noise. So 25 points for d, but zero for anything else.
26. You might be able to find e, but only in the sewers. The others can be found on the island of Manhattan, or at least they turn up here. The correct answer is e – 25 points. Zero for anything else. The author has encountered all of them on runs leaving his apartment in northern Manhattan, though coyotes only in the wilds of Westchester just outside the Bronx border.
Scores
520 – 650: You are. One of us.
400 – 520: We accept you, but you have a thing or two to learn.
200 – 400: I know, it’s a big place and the in’s and out’s can be confusing.
Below 200: Well, forget about it.