Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“I read old books because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
•“I study old buildings because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
•“Due to personal reasons, I’m still going to be fluffy this summer” (4/18)
•“Do not honk at me. My life is worthless. I will kill us both” (bumper sticker) (4/18)
•Entry in progress—BP16 (4/18)
More new entries...
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
This site is edited by Barry Popik. These are the Cookies and Privacy Policies.
“Why do riot police get to work early?”/“To beat the crowd.”
“It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. What matters is if I win or lose”
“I wonder what Facebook employees do to waste time at work”
“Never ruin an apology with an excuse”
“What has 18 legs and catches flies?”/“A baseball team.”
“What travels around the world but stays in one corner?” (riddle)
“How do you catch a school of fish?”/“With a bookworm.”
“Can a news story electrocute somebody? The answer may shock you”
“Why do people like soda?”/“Because it’s sodalicious.” (soda + delicious)
Fort Surrender (66th Police Precinct, Borough Park nickname)
Park and Bark (singing with limited theatrical movement)
“I say no to alcohol, it just doesn’t listen”
Dirty Thirty (30th Police Precinct nickname)
“Yo mama is so dumb, she passed by the YMCA and said hey, they spelled MACYs wrong”
“How do you spell candy with two letters?”/“C and Y.”
“As useful as an astray on a motorcycle” (not useful)
“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm”
“A skyscraper is a machine that makes the land pay”
“If we are to live together, we have to talk”
Catskill Mountains: Catskill Mountain Rock
“Why do beers on airplanes cost so much?”/“You’re paying for the atmosphere.”
“Why do beers on airplanes cost so much?”/“You’re paying for the atmosphere.”
“I tell new hires, ‘Don’t think of me as your boss, think of me as a friend who can fire you’”
“I didn’t ask you to dance. I said you look fat in those pants”
“Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is the best defense”
“What did one traffic light say to the other traffic light?” (joke)
“Yo mama is so dumb, she put a quarter in a parking meter and waited for a gumball”
“How do construction workers party?”/“They raise the roof.”
“My favorite position is CEO” (“A woman’s favorite position is CEO”)
“Archaeologist: someone whose career lies in ruins”
“I missed the cosmetics exam. I had to do a makeup test”
“It’s not who you know, it’s whom you know”
“What’s the difference between 9/11 and a cow?”/“You can’t milk a cow for X years.”
“Hello Brooklyn”
“What’s the difference between a cow and the Holocaust?”
“How do you cook a crocodile?”/“In a ‘croc’ pot.”
“My friend William changed his name to Lawrence, and that’s how a Bill becomes a Law”
“The butcher who made seabird sausages took a tern for the wurst”
“Cartoonist found dead in home. Details are sketchy”
“Tea is for mugs”
“When I found out my microwave wasn’t waterproof, I was shocked”
“My girlfriend fell in an ice cream store. She’s now a sore bae”
“A champion is someone who is willing to be uncomfortable” (“Be comfortable being uncomfortable”)
Million Dollar Rain
“Poor farmers grow crops, but good farmers grow soil”
Welfargee (welfare + refugee)
Fexit (federal + exit)
Fexit (federal + exit)
“A backward poet writes inverse”
“The best way to communicate with a fish is to drop them a line”
“Fishing lures are made to catch fishermen, not fish”
Buchanan: Fukushima on the Hudson (Indian Point Energy Center nickname)
“Americans prefer houses with basements. They’re best cellars”
“Why did Eve want to move to New York?”/“She fell for the Big Apple!”
“Why does the Statue of Liberty stand in the harbor?”/“Because it can’t sit down.”
Stexit (Staten Island + exit)