Rochester Trivia and More!
Did You Know?
- The average number of days reaching 90 degrees or above is 9
- The average number of days falling to 32 degrees or lower is 134
- The average number of cloudy days per year is 199
- That we are both the "Flour City" and the "Flower City"
- The first known abolitionist group was founded here in 1838
- The first official use of a lever type voting machine, known then as the "Myers Automatic Booth," occurred in Lockport, New York in 1892. Four years later, they were employed on a large scale in the city of Rochester, New York, and soon were adopted statewide. By 1930, lever machines had been installed in virtually every major city in the United States, and by the 1960’s well over half of the Nation’s votes were being cast on these machines.
- Seth Green developed the fishing reel in the 1860's
- Amelia Bloomer developed "bloomers" in the 1840's
- Joseph B. Demerath developed marshmallows in the 1890's
- Pearl B. Wait developed Jell-O in 1897
- The only place in the world where Cool Whip is made is Avon, NY
- George and Francis French developed "French's Mustard" in 1904
- Jesse Hatch developed baby shoes in the 1840's
- Dr. J. B. Beers developed gold teeth in 1843
- James Cutler developed the mail chute in 1879
- In 1934, a Genesee Brewing Co. wagon, paraded the streets as Prohibition was repealed.
- Before we were incorporated a city in 1834, we were known as the village of Rochesterville.
- In 1928 fire horses last were used. A hoof disease killed many of them.
- Being surrounded by water on 3 sides...Irondequoit is "almost" an island.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt came here in 1928 to be nominated as the Democratic candidate for governor.
- Two of Pro Football's greatest quarterbacks have different athletic ties to here. Sammy Baugh played shortstop for the Red Wings, and Otto Graham played basketball for the Royals.
- We are the birthplace of many world famous companies including: Eastman Kodak, Xerox, Bausch and Lomb, Rochester Products ( Famous Rochester Quadra Jet Carburetor). Also our local phone company Rochester Telephone has grown to become Frontier Communications.
- Some of our local festivals bring people here from across the country and around the world. A few of these would be: The Lilac Festival, Corn Hill Festival, Park Avenue Festival, and Harborfest.
- The Genesee River is one of the only rivers in the world that flows South to North.
- Which hotdog cart has the best white hots in town? The guy in front
of the psyche ward at the Med Center! Everyone else in town has inferior
condiments. I encourage you to visit him. Get a white hot with
everything (fried onions and peppers, "hot sauce" <which he makes>,
raw onions, kraut, mustard, relish, and that Asian hot sauce he buys!
submitted by Jim 9/7/00 - KRAZY GLUE Harry Coover accidentally discovered cyanoacrylate, the substance in Krazy Glue, on two different occasions: first when trying to create a see-through plastic for gun sights during World War II and then years later, in 1951, when at Kodak attempting to develop a heat-resistant polymer for jet canopies. Both times the new substance was too sticky for his needs. Kodak marketed it in 1958 as an all-purpose, supersticky glue. In Vietnam, medics used it to save lives, sealing cuts before injured soldiers reached a hospital.
- We are also a home to "Happy Ice"
This next section is meant to be a little bit tongue in cheek. These ideas have come from many different people. If you have any of your own, just let us know.
You know you're from Rochester, NY when...
- "Waking up with the Wease" doesn't mean you have a respiratory infection.
- The thought of eating a "garbage plate" makes your mouth water.
- The only thing at the annual May Lilac Festival is snow.
- The worst four-letter word you could say is "Fuji".
- Soccer games have better attendance than baseball games.
- You can't swim at the beach.
- You thought you figured out that alternate-parking thing, but wind up with a ticket anyway.
- Toronto is about 70 miles away, but it takes about four hours to get there.
- Half the people bring their dogs to festivals and the other half complain about it.
- The name "Greater Rochester International Airport" is bigger than the airport itself.
- There's an 800 number to report a pothole in the road.
- City planners begin yet another feasibility study, in lieu of actually doing anything.
- You know that a "Can of Worms" is not something you take fishing.
- Your baby's first word is "Wegmans".
- You ask lifetime residents where the George Eastman House is, but they don't know either.
- In a city where it snows at least 90 inches a year, they build a new sports stadium with no roof on it.
- Buildings with statues of guys with wings on the tops of them is not unusual to you.
- It can be 70 degrees one day, below freezing the next, and you think nothing of it.
- Your mother is buying outfits to wear to Wegmans.
- You try to go out to dinner at 8:30 PM and everyone's already closed.
- You hear that there's a "Dome Arena", but you're really disappointed once you see it.
- They build a new store right in front of a vacant one of the same size.
- Your low-fat diet is never low enough to exclude an Abbot's custard.
- You order a white hot and a pop, and the counterman knows what you're talking about.
- You can travel from Egypt to Greece in about a half hour by car.
- D&C is a newspaper, not a medical procedure.
- You can find a metered parking spot downtown at the height of the Christmas shopping season.
- You can watch LPGA commercials in December.
- There is no "dog" in "hot dog".
- There are no hamburgers, only ground steak
- There is meat in hot sauce.
- You can accurately judge people as to their social status by determining which Wegmans store they shop at.
- You can go to any mall on Saturday and see at least 5 people you either work with, went to school with or dated.
- The new line of spring fashions to hit the stores is actually comprised of leftovers from the 1991 line in NYC.
- A musical comes to town 10 years after its Broadway premiere and the entire town goes nuts! (ex. Miss Saigon)
- You wake up from a deep sleep, look at the clock and see that it's
6:00 but you have no idea whether
it's am or PM. - When18+ inches of snow falls overnight, but you never thought of NOT going to work.
- There is no such thing as a snow day.
- A snow storm advisory means you must go shop at Wegmans!
- You are perplexed when friends from other cities come to visit and want to "see the sights."
- A flagpole strung with white lights seems like an acceptable alternative to a municipal Christmas tree.
- You can compare Nick Tahoe's garbage plate to at least 3 other knock-offs in competing restaurants.
- There is a different "festival" to go to every single weekend from May to September, but absolutely nothing happening the remainder of the year.
- You take out-of-town friends or colleagues to the airport during "rush hour" and they can't get over the fact that you don't hit a single red light or come to a complete stop the entire way.
- You have to make a "road trip" to see any kind of Division I intercollegiate competition.
- Any new construction project downtown that comprises over ten stories is worthy of a detailed front-page account in the newspaper.
- The temperature hits 45 degrees and the sun comes out in any month
between November and April,
people walk around downtown wearing shades and no jackets. - The feature stories in the newspaper look suspiciously like the
articles you read in the New York Times
while on a business trip last week. - You and the cat are peacefully napping in front of the TV set, with the volume at a comfortable level, and a Gabriele Ford commercial comes on at twice the decibel level, causing you to bolt upright and the cat to leave gouge marks in your lap.
- There are places at the poles that seem to get more sunlight during the winter months than we do.
- Wegmans is a somewhere to go on a Friday night, for entertainment.
- We all know the saying, "Grandma, I don't believe you."
- We know who Vinnie and Angelo are.
- Our "International" airport has only two terminals!
- You define summer as three months of bad sledding.
- You think that people from Pennsylvania have an accent.
- Your idea of a seven-course meal is a six pack of Genny Light and a bucket of Buffalo wings.
- You believe that "down south" means Maryland.
- You bake with soda and drink pop.
- You define candy on a stick as a sucker and a hapless, hopeless individual as a moron.
- Halloween is snowed out with great regularity.
- You have experienced frostbite and sunburn in the same week.
- You know that Buffalo not only exists, but that it isn't far from Hell.
- Your favorite holidays are Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the opening of deer season.
- Your snowmobile, lawn mower and fishing boat all have big block Chevy engines.
- Your year has two seasons: Winter and Construction.
- Half the change in your pocket is Canadian, eh.
- Half the television channels you get are Canadian, eh.
- It's a disgrace to buy Fuji products.
- From May to October there is a festival every weekend celebrating a different fruit, vegetable, or agricultural product.
- Every vehicle you own has a ski rack or a gun rack.
- You know that the Penny Arcade is a place you will NEVER bring your
children.
Submitted by BuddyBob 1/4/01 - You know you are from Rochester when you have to explain that Westchester is "not upstate", and NYC is actually not a separate state.
- You know you're from Rochester when you know at least 4 people in grindcore bands
- You know you're from Rochester when you have a car dealer who is
also second in charge at a church (Mike Piehler)
Submitted by Eric "easy" 2/17/02 - You know you're from Rochester when the ushers at your church look
like the cast of the Sopranos
Submitted by Bob MacDonald 3/18/02 - You know you're from Rochester when your entire high school is employed at the same Wegmans.
- You know you're from Rochester when you understand what the term "ra cha cha" means.
- You know you're from Rochester when you're the only person in the world who doesn't want a white Christmas.
- You know you're from Rochester when walking on the beach means stepping over the deer carcasses that have washed up on the shore.
- You know you're from Rochester when you refer to the atmosphere surrounding your city as the "Rochester bubble".
- You know you're from Rochester when walking on the beach means walking
over huge fish or beaver carcasses that have washed up.
Submitted by Serefina 7/31/03 - You know you're from Rochester when you know the difference between
custard and ice cream and where to find both.
Submitted by Suzanne of Dragon's Breath 10/11/03 - You know you're from Rochester when you know what a garbage plate
is.
Submitted by Suzanne of Dragon's Breath 10/11/03 - You know you're from Rochester when your friends come to town the
first place you take them is Weggies.
Submitted by Suzanne of Dragon's Breath 10/11/03 - You know you're from Rochester when you know what Weggies is.
Submitted by Suzanne of Dragon's Breath 10/11/03 - You know you're from Rochester when you travel to New York City and everyone asks "where are you from, you've got a funny accent?"
- You know you're from Rochester when someone says the word "Soda" you say "Out of towner"
- II you know the owner of Abott's Custard actually used to be "Long
House" and he actually lived in Scottsville.
Submitted by Nick from Scottsville 9/25/04 - If you know the difference between a Porker or a Texas
Hot. And of course you need the hot sauce no matter which you
choose.
Submitted by Nick from Scottsville 9/25/04 - You get excited when you find out that you can get mountain bike
tires with ice studs.
Submitted by Jay DeKing 5/29/04 - If you know to ask for a 'bowl also' when you order a small cone at LUGIA'S !!
- You know you're from Rochester if you want to play euchre every time you see a deck of cards.
- You know how to properly pronounce Charlotte, Avon, Lima and Chili.
Submitted by Sean Adams 5/01/05 - You know you come from Rochester when you know Seabreeze is an amusement
park not a drink
Submitted by Rusty 6/12/05 - You know that your from Rochester when the only thing fast about
the fast ferry is the need for more money.
Submitted by Rusty 6/12/05 - You know you come from Rochester when you know the Genesee River
flows north not south like the Nile.
Submitted by Rusty 6/12/05 - You know you come from Rochester when you know Americans play hockey.
Submitted by Rusty 6/12/05 - You know you come from Rochester when you know South Park is not
a TV show but where GVLL played little league.
Submitted by Rusty 6/12/05 - You know you came from Rochester when you know the jack rabbit and
wild mouse are amusement rides not animals.
Submitted by Joann 6/12/05 - You know you're from Rochester when you can go into a bar and ask
for a "Genny" and the bartender knows you are not talking about
a person.
Submitted by Don 6/12/05 - You know you're Rochester if you walk into Nick Tahous and you are
Not offended by the customer service.
Submitted by Ramos and Keith 7/13/05 - You know you're from Rochester if every year when summer comes and
you go to Charlotte for the first time that year, you see discover a
new building that wasn't there the year before.
Submitted by RochesterRocks 3/12/06
You've talked about leaving this dump for 10 years and you're still here, because despite all there is to poke fun at, Rochester isn't a bad place to live.
Do you have any Rochester trivia in mind that should be included here? Feel free to contact us via our form