The Manhattan Project, Punk Rock & Toilet Paper: How New York Handles Its “Bombs”

New York City. It’s a city of firsts.

I mean, c’mon. When someone says, “The City,” it’s the first place that comes to, pretty much, everyone’s minds, right? So, to discover it’s the home of lots of other firsts probably isn’t much of a surprise.

Of these “firsts,” there are some curious combinations.

Most notably, the nuclear bomb (and, for those of you playing along at home, it’s pronounced “noo-clee-yur,” not “nook-you-lur”), punk rock, and … toilet paper.

Let’s take a look back in history to see how New York City deals with its … bombs.

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT

It’s the name of a great movie, sure, but did you know that “The Manhattan Project” was the code name used during the development of the A-Bomb during World War II?

Started in 1939, the Manhattan Project—so named for its temporary headquarters on the 18th floor of 270 Broadway—grew to employ more than 130,000 people and cost a whopping $2 billion (an unheard of sum in those days), which is equivalent to about $26 billion today.

The project brought fame—the likes of which he probably never considered—to physicist Robert Oppenheimer; his atomic bomb was first detonated in New Mexico in 1945.

PUNK ROCK

A bomb of another kind altogether, punk rock, that great bastion of kids that wanted nothing more than to reject anything mainstream, got its start in New York, too. In the early 1970s at clubs like CBGB in Lower Manhattan, bands like Television, Patti Smith, and the Ramones were starting to make noise—and what great noise it was!—and change the way kids in America listened to music.

Bands that followed include stalwarts like Suicidal Tendencies, the Sex Pistols, and Black Flag, and gave rise to bands like Green Day, The Offspring, and Blink-182. Or, if we’re steering clear of the mainstream, as punk is wont to do, we can talk about greats like Bad Religion, Social Distortion, and Pennywise.

No matter how you take your punk, its bomb was dropped in none other than New York City.

TOILET PAPER

Does a bear … do his thing in the woods? We don’t know, but New York City can help him–and the rest of us–take care of that little problem. When it snows, pretty much anyone will tell you there’s nothing more important to have on hand than toilet paper (it tops even bread and milk!)

Did you know this magical stuff … that makes it so much more pleasant to deal with your personal, uhh … “bombs” was invented right here in New York City? It’s true!

‘Round about 1857, Joseph Gayetty introduced the first toilet paper. Sold in flat sheets and embossed with his name, Mr. Gayetty’s “medicated paper for the water closet” called itself “the greatest necessity of the age!” Frankly, we can only agree.

Well-played, Mr. Gayetty. Well-played, indeed.

REVALUATE!

Another first to come out of New York—and just this year!!—is, you guessed it, Revaluate! We are proud to be the first site of our kind and the first site that lets you find out what it’s like to live somewhere before you ever move, so you can avoid a bomb (see how we tied that all together?) when you’re leasing your next apartment.

Get to know us; while you do, you’ll find out all kinds of fascinating facts about our city.

Revaluate … and know more!