New York's Playground: The Coney Island Quiz
1 of 12
What is the height of the Cyclone’s first drop, also the highest point on the coaster?
40 feet
65 feet
85 feet
101 feet
ANSWER: As the legend goes, this was the first time he had spoken in years. After realizing what he had just done, the miner promptly fainted. As the legend goes, this was the first time he had spoken in years. After realizing what he had just done, the miner promptly fainted.
2 of 12
Name this Coney Island sideshow performer.
Nostrilla
Donny Vomit
Insectavora
The Great Fredini
3 of 12
How long did Richard Rodriguez ride the Cyclone during his 1977 world record-breaking marathon roller coaster ride?
56 hours
91 hours
104 hours
145 hours
ANSWER: According to Guiness rules, Rodriguez had to ride the coaster for 104 hours continuously, even after the park had closed. He was granted a 5-minute break every hour. Rodriguez has since set a number of other coaster marathon records, including a 401-hour extravaganza in 2007 at a park in England. According to Guiness rules, Rodriguez had to ride the coaster for 104 hours continuously, even after the park had closed. He was granted a 5-minute break every hour. Rodriguez has since set a number of other coaster marathon records, including a 401-hour extravaganza in 2007 at a park in England.
4 of 12
Sideshow performer Ruby Rodriguez, better known as Satina the snake enchantress, was featured in what Bruce Springsteen video?
Born to Run
Pink Cadillac
Dancing in the Dark
Tunnel of Love
5 of 12
Christopher Feucht built the Drop the Dips ride on Coney Island, one of the more popular roller coasters of its day. But Feucht’s real legacy is another of his Coney Island creations that lives on to this day. What was it?
Buns for hot dogs
The rotor
Lap bars for roller coasters
The Guess Your Height/Age/Weight booth
ANSWER: Feucht didn't think that the old staps and flimsy seat belts were enough to keep people safe on the increasingly gravity-defying coasters. We thank him profusely. Feucht didn't think that the old staps and flimsy seat belts were enough to keep people safe on the increasingly gravity-defying coasters. We thank him profusely.
6 of 12
What minor league baseball team plays at KeySpan Park on Coney Island?
Coney Island Sluggers
Brooklyn Cyclones
New York Freaks
Brooklyn Coneys
ANSWER: The Cyclones are a class-A affiliate of the Mets. Their name was picked in a contest. The Cyclones are a class-A affiliate of the Mets. Their name was picked in a contest.
7 of 12
William F. Mangels built a particularly fast carousel at the entrance to Luna Park. What really set the ride apart, though, was the unusual spelling of the name. How did Mangels (mis)spell it?
B & B Carrousel
B & B Karousel
B & B Care-O-Cell
B & B Carousell
ANSWER: The carousel(l) still stands to this day, having been bought by the city as part of the Coney Island re-development project. The misspelling has also stayed intact. The carousel(l) still stands to this day, having been bought by the city as part of the Coney Island re-development project. The misspelling has also stayed intact.
8 of 12
Which Woody Allen movie showed Allen living under the Thunderbolt roller coaster as a child?
Manhattan
Annie Hall
Love and Death
Radio Days
ANSWER: Allen's character's father operated the bumper cars. Allen's character's father operated the bumper cars.
9 of 12
John Y McKane, who ran Coney Island in its early years, was notorious for allowing prostitution and other vices on the island, believing them to be necessary for its continued existence. His reign ended with a sentence in Sing-Sing for what charge, among others?
Election fraud
Arson
Embezzlement
First-degree murder
ANSWER: McKane had a habit of playing with elections, changing voting districts and creating phantom votes to get the decisions he wanted. Although this was not his first trial, it was one of the few where he was not successful in bribing the jury. And yes, it is ironic that he shares his name (phoenetically, at least) with a presidential candidate. McKane had a habit of playing with elections, changing voting districts and creating phantom votes to get the decisions he wanted. Although this was not his first trial, it was one of the few where he was not successful in bribing the jury. And yes, it is ironic that he shares his name (phoenetically, at least) with a presidential candidate.
10 of 12
According to a famous Coney Island legend, in 1948 a coal miner who suffered from aphonia took a ride on the Cyclone, then spoke his first words as the ride ended. What did he allegedly say?
"Wow!"
"That was it?"
"I feel sick."
"Let's go again!"
ANSWER: As the legend goes, this was the first time he had spoken in years. After realizing what he had just done, the miner promptly fainted. As the legend goes, this was the first time he had spoken in years. After realizing what he had just done, the miner promptly fainted.
11 of 12
Dreamland, one of Coney Island’s more extravagant parks, was famous for it’s grand-scale recreations of historical events. For example, park organizers shipped in hundreds of war veterans from Johannesburg to relive the Boer War in a stadium. Which of these disasters did Dreamland not attempt to recreate?
The San Francisco Earthquake
The Great Chicago Fire
The eruption of Vesuvius
The Galveston Flood
12 of 12
Who is the defending champion of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, having broken the world record by eating 66 hot dogs in 2007?
"Crazy Legs" Conti
Tim Janus
Takeru Kobayashi
Joey Chestnut
