Not everyone is happy with the election results from last night — in fact, a solid half of the country really doesn't like it very much at all. But two states are already forming a plan. Californians and New Yorkers on Twitter are calling for a California Exit (Calexit) and a New York Exit (NYexit), respectively, which would see them both seceding from these United States.
Does that mean they're taking Disneyland with them? The Statue of Liberty? Yes. Yes, it does.
How much would it cost to buy a city? That's a question usually reserved for Batman villians, but it could be done if the first 12 members of the Forbes' World Billionaire List pooled their money together.
The folks over at PropertyShark did some math to see how the wealthy dozen could divy up Manhattan. They put their results in the handy infograpic posted below.
As for the outer boroughs, PropertyShark said:
"Sprawling Queens would have a record low population density under this scenario, with just the top 3 billionaires – Gates, Ortega and Buffett – having enough zeroes between them to buy the entire borough, for a total value of $192.5B.
As for Brooklyn, it would be the turf of the next 6 billionaires on the Top 10 Richest list, once they put forth a little over $245B to cover the bill. Ranking 4th to 9th on the Forbes list, Carlos Slim Helu, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Michael Bloomberg and Charles Koch could trade in pieces of Manhattan for the entirety of cool Brooklyn."
It's all very cool and very expensive. Fortunately, you don't need to buy the city to enjoy the infographic.
via by PropertyShark
Bea Arthur, everyone's favorite Golden Girl Grandma continues to "Mom" us through the legacy of her will. A longtime supporter of the Ali Forney Center for LGBTI youth in New York City's East Village, she left $300,000 in her will to support it. The Bea Arthur Residence will open in Feb 2017, giving hope, counseling, shelter, and a safe place with 18 rooms for LGBTI youth.
Though she died in 2009, she'll always be a hero to LGBTI youth everywhere.
Donate to the center yourself here.
Rats are having quite a year.
First it was Pizza Rat and now it's Selfie Rat.
Don Richards says he was visiting Brooklyn this week when he captured incredible footage of a rat climbing on top of a sleeping man in the subway and inadvertently taking a selfie with the man's phone.
The flash from the camera woke up the man who was very surprised to see a rat sitting in his lap.
Both men exchanged footage and the rat selfie as proof of this unbelievable story.
You might not know that the Pope is in America. Especially if you've been in a coma for the past month.
It's causing people to do some pretty intense things in the name of putting the papacy on its pedestal. Things like dressing their dogs up like the Holy See and creating emojis to welcome his visit.
Well, some pizza men in New York wanted to do something in their wheelhouse when the Pope comes to the Big Apple Sept. 25. So they put him on a pizza.
The five-hour process came from a place of respect according to local channel ABC 7:
"We want to do something special for the Pope, he's coming back to the city," said Tony Salihaj, the chef.
The highly anticipated arrival of Pope Francis in New York already has venues across the city cooking up a surprise or two.
"We decided to make an image of him the best we can," Salihaj said. "We're pizza men we're not artists."
Tony Salihaj says he came up with the papal pizza recipe along with a friend and then quickly put it into execution; with the help of mozzarella and ricotta cheese, tomatoes, anchovies, and peppers to round out the details and adornments.
"This took about five hours to make this one and lots of patience," Salihaj said.
Look at him in all of his greasy grace.
We can guess what their decision process looks like:
This might not be the best way to begin an engagement...
A dragon row boat capsized Sept. 20 after a man proposed to his girlfriend, tossing 19 people into New York City's East River. They all had to be rescued by emergency services. Thankfully, everyone's fine.
As The Gothamist writes:
Officials say the boat was capsized by a succession of wakes from larger vessels passing nearby, not from the emotional turbulence that inevitably batters every couple who commits to spending their entire lives together in this f*cked up world, so there's no need to see this as a metaphor for their impending nuptials or the institution of marriage in general. But even if it is A Sign, everybody on board survived, so the takeaway is obviously that when you prepare for life's vicissitudes and wear a life preserver everything will be just fine!
Even without the surprise swimming, that can't have been too romantic of a proposal. I mean, those boats are crammed full of people trying to row their little hearts out. So, it's not like you could find privacy or even a moment's peace to look each other in the eyes, contemplating your future.
Those people look pretty cold after their rescue.
But she said yes! So, the day wasn't ruined for at least two of those people.
There are limits to what we can tolerate in modern, artisanal culture. The pickles are good, the micro distilleries are neat and many of the crafts are delightful in their own way.
Bindle bags might just be beyond the pale, however.
The New York Times profiled the Bindle Bros, Josiah and Dusty and chronicled their rising entrepreneurial exploits.
"We're trying to build adventures, one stick, one bindle at a time," Dusty likes to say, referring to the famous hobo accouterment he and his older brother make and sell in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
As their business card states, the Bindle Brothers specialize in "locally-grown, naturally-fallen, artisanal bindle bags." In doing so, they are reviving an item not seen since the days of Steinbeck, when itinerant farmhands and rail-hopping hobos known as "bindle stiffs" made sacks to carry their meager belongings around the country.
Already, the Bindle Brothers have been featured in a glowing video profile by Business Company magazine. In the video, Josiah, who is the chief executive officer and frequent spokesman, likens the bindle to "luggage at its purest" and explains that he and Dusty are selling not a mere stick and a sack but the promise of adventure.
Thankfully, this is all a joke. And a pretty well done one as well. They certainly capture the spirit of the waxed mustaches, monocles and DIY spirit that has spilled on our culture.
And they gave us this quote as well:
"The Giving Tree is our Bible, we just pretend that Steinbeck wrote it."
“This could be the biggest snowstorm in the history of this city,” said New York Mayor Bill de Blasioat a press conference on Sunday about Winter Storm Juno, or what is now being collectively referred to online as “Snowmageddon 2015.”
The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have all declared state of emergencies as more than 2 feet of snow is expected to dump in the area.
While you hunker down and get started on that first loaf, check out some of the best reactions to the storm so far on Twitter.
As a counterpoint to 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman. Suffice it to say that they're two vastly different experiences.
As part of a movement to promote awareness about street harassment, actress Shoshana Roberts spent 10 hours silently walking around New York with a hidden camera, documenting how she was treated by men.
The results are disturbing to say the least.
Aspiring rapper Neno Best was selling weapons out of his makeshift studio in Brooklyn to support his career. However, he was also alluding to his dealings on Instagram, complete with photos of old guns and large wads of cash. After the NYPD caught wind of the photos, investigators uncovered a multi-state trafficking ring resulting in the seizure of 243 handguns, 9 rifles and 2 shotguns and 19
New York City's iconic Empire State Building showed off its brand new LED light fixture yesterday with a fancy light show programmed to R&B artist Alicia Keys' new album title track "Girl on Fire" as well as Jay-Z and Keys' 2009 hit anthem "Empire State of Mind."
Two Mormon missionaries Elder Johnson and Elder Miligan are rebranding the face of the religious movement through their Facebook page called Doing NYC Missionary Style, where you can find more ridiculously awesome photos of the duo posing with their new pals in New York City.
