Discover Brooklyn's Secrets: Top 11 Surprising and Entertaining Fun Facts You Never Knew!

1. The Egg Cream Enigma

Eggs and cream need not apply: The beloved Brooklyn Egg Cream contains none of its namesake ingredients but has been tickling taste buds since the 1880s. This delectably fizzy concoction actually boasts a trifecta of whole milk, soda water, and renowned Fox's U-bet syrup. Hatched as an idea by candy shop owner Louis Auster, these drinks flew off the shelves at a rate of 3,000 per day during their heyday, eventually cementing U-bet syrup as the official flavor of the borough since the 1920s.
Source => asliceofbrooklyn.com

2. Hot Dog Chomping Champions

Canine companions, look away: we're about to reveal a sausage fest of truly epic proportions on New York's finest shores! In an annual display of hunger and gluttony that would make your average Labrador blush, belt-strapped heroes duke it out among flying breadcrumbs and trails of mustard: Joey Chestnut devoured a drool-worthy 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes at the 2021 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn's Coney Island. This gastronomic battle royale traces its origins back to 1916 and dishes out the prestigious Mustard Yellow International Belt to its insatiable victors. Miki Sudo holds the women's record at 48 franks, and Nathan's kindly donates 100,000 hot dogs to New York City's Food Bank each year to grease the wheels of charity.
Source => abc7chicago.com

Did you know NYC has about 4 million pigeons with incredible homing and distance-trekking skills? But beware, they might also carry diseases! Discover more fun facts about the Big Apple.

=> Fun Facts about New-York

3. Fort Frenzy and Engineering Feats

Back in the day when fort building was the hottest trend and engineering was an extreme sport: Colonel Jonathan Williams, Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers, designed and completed the first casemated battery in the United States, Castle Williams, along with its sibling fort, Castle Clinton, both of which still stand as historic landmarks in New York Harbor.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. Antique Wooden Wonder

If walls could talk, this old-timer would have quite the tale to creak: Brooklyn Heights harbors the neighborhood's oldest wooden frame house at 24 Middaugh Street, dating back to 1824 or maybe even the 1790s. Defying a ban on wooden homes since 1852, this federal-style relic has gone from a modest $10,000 in 1875 to a jaw-dropping $7 million sale in recent times.
Source => yourbrooklynguide.com

5. Arturo's Celeb-Approved Slices

Do you ever dream of having a pizza that could make Julia Roberts Pretty Woman stomach rumble, and Dizzy Gillespie toot his horn with delight? Well, look no further: Arturo's pizza, since 1957, has been a tantalizing treat for these famous taste buds, as well as the Village's. With their coal oven crust crispier than a secret handshake, this under-the-radar pizzeria has remained a cherished institution for over 60 years, proving that good pizza will jazz up even the most discreet parties.
Source => businessinsider.com

6. Villa Vibes and Parkside Properties

Talk about a real estate agent's wildest dream: a villa in the heart of a bustling city park! Litchfield Villa, situated in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, is a historic Italianate mansion built in the 1850s for developer Edwin Clark Litchfield at a whopping cost of $150,000, even before the park opened in 1867. Nowadays, it houses the Brooklyn borough headquarters for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

7. Brooklyn's Literary Lounge

If great literary minds were a book club, Brooklyn Heights would be their go-to spot for coffee and conversation: This historic neighborhood has been home to a dazzling roster of writers like Arthur Miller, Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, and many more, who penned some of their most iconic works such as Death of a Salesman and Breakfast at Tiffany's while living there.
Source => tawkofnewyawk.com

8. Gowanus Canal's Toxic Regatta

Who needs a gondola in Venice when you can paddle in toxic splendor? In Brooklyn's very own Gowanus Canal, urban explorers trade in canalside cafés for industrial murk: What was once a heavily polluted waterway has transformed into a hot spot for kayaking and canoeing buffs. These daring navigators venture through the waters, experiencing the colorful history of Brooklyn's waterfront, while the EPA ensures their safety with water quality monitoring and health risk mitigation.
Source => cumulis.epa.gov

9. Green-Wood Cemetery's Resurrection

Even the grave can't escape a good face-lift: Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark, had several trees fall and monuments crush due to Hurricane Sandy, but bounced back with a $565,475 grant—used to restore the Breithaupt Mausoleum, replant 50 large trees, and buy debris-handling equipment.
Source => newyorkalmanack.com

10. Five Guys' Beefy Borough Invasion

In a city where only the juiciest of gossip thrive, one burger joint stands out among the herd – buns blazing, relishing in the fame that is Brooklyn's Five Guys: The popular burger franchise has two locations in Brooklyn, out of 11 in New York City, and over 1,350 worldwide. Originating in Arlington, Virginia in 1986, cows across the globe tremble at the mention of its name, but its first Brooklyn outpost only opened in 2009 – fashionably late, of course.
Source => forcitylovers.com

11. Boozy Blockbusters at Nitehawk Cinema

Lights, Camera, Cheers! No more need to sneak your flask into the theater, thanks to one rebellious cinema in Brooklyn: Nitehawk Cinema not only became a pioneer in serving alcohol during movie screenings, but also succeeded in overturning an 80-year-old prohibition-era liquor law just three months after opening.
Source => nitehawkcinema.com