NYC Bars
This MacDougal Street basement venue in Greenwich Village launched the careers of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Richard Pryor in the early 1960s — all of whom performed there before anyone knew their names.
What is Cafe Wha?
This Emmy-winning CBS reality competition has awarded $1 million to winning teams since 2001, sending pairs of contestants racing across the globe through a series of roadblocks, detours, and pit stops — winning more Best Reality Competition Emmys than any other show in history.
What is The Amazing Race?
This early 2010s photo-sharing app, acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012, turned ordinary people into influencers and changed marketing forever.
What is Instagram?
This two-time heavyweight champion earned more money from a countertop cooking appliance than from his entire boxing career, selling over 100 million units worldwide.
Who is George Foreman?
The Sistine Chapel ceiling was actually commissioned as an act of sabotage — a rival painter convinced the Pope to assign it to this sculptor, hoping to expose him as out of his depth.
Who is Michelangelo?
Opened in 1854 and claiming to be Manhattan's oldest continuously operating saloon, this East Village institution famously refused to serve women until a court order forced them to in 1970 — 116 years after opening.
What is McSorley's Old Ale House?
This Rhode Island DJ was recruited for Jersey Shore via MySpace, then heard nothing for six months — only finding out the show was real when he saw a commercial air on MTV.
Who is Pauly D?
This Slovak-born YouTuber built a massive following by giving away cars and cash to friends on camera — before losing major sponsorships in 2021 when a member of his group was accused of sexual assault during the filming of one of his videos.
Who is David Dobrik?
This fictional primate was created by husband-and-wife team H.A. and Margret Rey, who fled Paris on homemade bicycles in 1940 — carrying the original manuscript with them — just days before the Nazis occupied the city.
Who is Curious George?
The term "tape measure home run" was literally coined because of this player, when a play-by-play announcer grabbed a measuring tape to record the distance of one of his 1953 blasts.
Who is Mickey Mantle?
This East Village club, whose name stood for "Country, Bluegrass, and Blues," became the unlikely birthplace of American punk and new wave — launching the careers of the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, and Television before closing in 2006.
What is CBGB?
This groundbreaking CBS reality show, which stranded castaways on a remote island and introduced America to tribal councils and immunity challenges, premiered in the summer of this year.
What is 2000?
Before becoming one of TikTok's most-followed creators, this Louisiana native was studying sports broadcasting at LSU — dropping out after just three months when her dance videos started going viral.
Who is Addison Rae?
This Seinfeld character, based on co-creator Larry David, was famously described as "short, stocky, slow-witted, and bald."
Who is George Costanza?
This Nobel Peace Prize winner resigned the presidency of the Soviet Union on Christmas Day 1991, saying "I am leaving my post with apprehension, but also with hope" — and the very same day, the USSR ceased to exist.
Who is Mikhail Gorbachev?
This former West Village speakeasy, hidden behind an unmarked door with no sign outside, was a Prohibition-era haunt of F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, and Ernest Hemingway — and is the rumored origin of the phrase "86'd."
What is Chumley's?
After "Scandoval" made her a household name, this wronged Vanderpump Rules star parlayed her newfound public sympathy into a spot on Dancing With the Stars and a hosting gig on Love Island USA — becoming the show's biggest breakout success story despite being the victim.
Who is Ariana Madix?
This Irish activist and educator, born with achondroplasia, used fashion blogging and a viral TED Talk to pressure luxury brands like Burberry and Ferragamo into designing more inclusively — proving influence can reshape an entire industry.
Who is Sinéad Burke?
This 19th century novelist, born Mary Ann Evans, used a male pen name to ensure her work was taken seriously in a field dominated by men.
Who is George Eliot?
This skier races with the acronym "ABFTTB" on her helmet — standing for "Always Be Faster Than The Boys" — a message she began marking on her equipment as a kid.
Who is Mikaela Shiffrin?
This storied Midtown hotel bar invented the New York Sour and was a haunt of Sinatra and Monroe.
What is the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis?
This scandalous nickname was given to the moment on Flavor of Love Season 2 when a contestant known as "Something" had an accidental bathroom emergency on the floor of the mansion — cementing the show's legacy as the most unhinged dating show in cable history.
What is Poopgate?
Kim Kardashian was fined $1.26 million by the SEC in 2022 for failing to disclose she was paid to promote this type of asset on Instagram.
What is cryptocurrency / EthereumMax?
Before picking up an electric guitar, this Delaware blues rocker played semi-professional baseball as a second baseman — and would reportedly take time off from recording sessions during baseball season.
Who is George Thorogood?
After this rock star denounced the Hell's Angels following a stabbing at the Stones' 1969 Altamont concert, members of the biker gang plotted to kill him — tracking him to a summer home on Long Island before their boat capsized in a sudden storm.
Who is Mick Jagger?