New York Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for New York trivia? Try our list New York little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Vaseline Petroleum Jelly was introduced in 1870 by Robert Augustus Chesebrough of New York City, who made use of the waxy residue that clogged oil field pumps. Petroleum jelly first was used to heal the burns and cuts of oil field workers.

first appeared: 11/1/2009

In 1853, German immigrant John Jacob Bausch opened an optical goods shop in Rochester, peddling everything from spectacles and field glasses to thermometers and microscopes. Borrowing about $60 from friend Henry Lomb in 1854, he promised to make Lomb a full partner if the business was successful. Lomb joined Bausch the next year, and their business became known as Bausch & Lomb Optical Co.

first appeared: 10/18/2009

Hakeem Bennett, 13, a student at Public School 36 in New York City, earned himself and his teacher a role in a Superman book after winning the Stone Arch Books national essay contest earlier this year. Students were asked to write about their real-life heroes, and Hakeem chose his teacher Matthew Brown.

first appeared: 10/4/2009

The New York Eye Infirmary, the oldest speciality hospital in the Western Hemisphere, opened in New York City in 1820. In 1864, its name was changed to New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, although the facility had treated ears since its inception.

first appeared: 9/20/2009

Livingston Arts Center in Mount Morris (pop. 4,567) is home to more than 200 paintings created through the Work Progress Administration (WPA) arts program during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The works hang in the center's New Deal Gallery on a rotating basis.

first appeared: 9/6/2009

In 1933, the Budweiser Clydesdales began traveling across the country to mark the repeal of Prohibition. Their first stop was New York City for a presentation of Budweiser beer to Gov. Al Smith, who was instrumental in repealing the federal ban on alcoholic beverages.

first appeared: 8/23/2009

Victor Ernest Shelford (1877-1968), born in Chemung (pop. 2,665), was a zoologist and animal ecologist who helped establish ecology as a scientific discipline through his studies of animal communities.

first appeared: 8/9/2009

"Sticks Nix Hick Pix" was the headline on July 17, 1935, in Variety, a long-running show business newspaper with offices in New York City. The article with the rhyming headline reported that rural audiences had rejected motion pictures that featured stories and characters from the countryside.

first appeared: 7/26/2009

—Fala, a Scottish terrier, was the personal pet and constant companion of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. When Roosevelt died in 1945, Fala went to live with his widow, Eleanor Roosevelt, at Val-Kill in Hyde Park (pop. 20,851). Fala died in 1952 and is buried near his master in the Springwood Rose Garden.

first appeared: 7/12/2009

—In 1935, Eastman Kodak, based in Rochester, introduced Kodachrome, the first commercially successful color film for amateurs.

first appeared: 6/28/2009

—On the New York City "Skyride," visitors are taken on a virtual reality tour over, around and through the city. The attraction, located at the Empire State Building, uses simulation technology and motion picture projections to create realistic feelings, including dodging cars in Times Square and riding the Cyclone roller coaster at Coney Island.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—Born in New York City in 1896, Benny Leonard, World Lightweight Champion from 1917 to 1925, turned pro at the age of 15. Observers said his "brainy" fighting style kept him from scarcely getting marked in the more than 200 bouts he fought.

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—When Catherine Hart of Long Island lost a $15,000 diamond from her ring during a sleepover at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the museum's custodial staff donned gloves and masks to comb through vacuum bags to find the gem, which was returned to its grateful owner.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—Shawn Goldsmith, an Oceanside (pop. 32,733) teen, earned all 121 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. It is said to be a nearly unheard-of feat; a scout is required to earn only 21 badges to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–In 1884, the first U.S. patents for tanning hides and skins through the action of a metallic salt were issued to Augustus Schultz of New York City. His invention of a chrome tanning process enabled leather to be tanned thinner and stronger than by vegetable tanning.

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—New York City's first public housing project, called the First Houses, opened in 1935 after a row of tenements were demolished and replaced with apartments constructed by the New York City Housing Authority.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—In 1870, New York City's first pneumatic-powered subway line was a 22-seat subway car that fit snugly into a nine-foot diameter, cylindrical tube. It was propelled by air from a giant fan that was powered by a steam engine, but was operated only briefly and only as a demonstration line.

first appeared: 3/22/2009

—Ithaca (pop. 29,287) was an important center for the silent film industry during the early 20th century. Many of the films produced during the era were the work of brothers Leopold and Theodore Wharton. When the industry later relocated to Hollywood, production in Ithaca effectively stopped.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—In the 1820s, a treadmill, similar to a paddle wheel, was introduced to the New York City Prison, which allowed prisoners to grind grain by walking.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—Gertrude Elion, who was born in New York City in 1918, pursued a career in chemistry and research that resulted in the discovery of new treatments for leukemia and other diseases. In 1988, Elion was honored for her work when she, George Hitchings and Sir James W. Black received the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

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