40 free attractions in New York City

Seeing the bulk of New York City’s biggest attractions can mean spending a hefty chunk of a trip’s budget on tickets. Empire State Building? $20. The Met? $20. The Guggenheim and Whitney go for $18 each. Even the Frick is $15. But there’s a lifetime of fun to be had without ever handing over a cent, and not just by taking on park trails, bike paths or window browsing. (Plus some ticket-admission spots have free times too – see the end of the post.)

Free New York travelers, get busy!

1. African Burial Ground

One of Lower Manhattan’s most fascinating, and controversial, stories of recent years circulates around the new African Burial Ground National Monument site. It began when a construction project in 1991 uncovered a burial ground of slaves – more than 400 caskets were found – from an age when New York had more slaves than any American city outside Charleston, South Carolina. Outside you can see part of the site now enveloped by buildings, and the compact visitors center does a masterful job at retelling African-American history in the city. See our 76-Second Travel Show episode on the museum’s opening. 290 Broadway between Duane & Elk Sts, Lower Manhattan.

Ten products you won’t believe that actually exist

The Pizza Fork

A fork with a pizza wheel on it! And here I am using a knife like an idiot.

Ten Places to See Before You Die

Like it or not, you are going to die someday. Wait, don’t panic! And stop googling “cryogenic freezing.” You’re not Walt Disney, and what are the chances that it’s actually going to work and you’ll suddenly just wake up one hundred years after your demise?

However, with continuing advancements in medical science and technology, there is a great chance that you’ll live longer than those belonging to previous generations of humanity did, and you may also remain healthy and active well into your golden years.

Unfortunately, at one point or another we all must come to terms with our inevitable mortality. We’re only on this planet for a number of years, and in this fleeting time we’ve really got to make it count!

If you haven’t seen the eponymous movie, you are probably still familiar with the idea of a “bucket list.” It is a final directory of the places you simply must see and the things you must experience in order to feel that your life is complete and fulfilled. While you’ve probably already given some thought to your own personal farewell tour, I present to you my (very subjective) list of ten places that every human being should endeavor to visit before they expire.

Databases and polls: When numbers are the news

Many news organizations have for years culled news stories from analog databases such as police records or census information and most online news media have set up quick polls that are attached to their news stories. Because of the internet and the multimedia tools available to us, we can do more with the facts and figures we might otherwise overlook. The following sites and news sections have taken ordinary numbers and have turned them into extraordinary resources.

Risky Roads Traffic Map

Does it feel like there are more traffic accidents than normal happening in your area? Find out for sure with this interactive map that uses colored dots to display the frequency of fatal accidents across the U.S. The genius of this project is that traffic fatality numbers are often readily available to news organizations, but it is when they are displayed in this sort of interactive environment that the gravity of the numbers sinks in.

OMG: Batman’s Lair is in Japan!

No, we’re not even joking! Check it out:

This giant Batman logo is located on the Kadena U.S. Air Force Base, near the city of Okinawa, Japan.