Once upon a time...

​It's been a good few days for subway nerdists -- earlier in the week we were all agawk over the "Lost Subways" map of NYC, which showed the subways that would have been but weren't. Yesterday we saw what happens when people stop being real and start being polite (even friendly!) on the subway. Today in subway porn, there's a gif showcasing the entire lifetime of the New York City subway, from before there even was a New York City subway, up to current day, when train routes crisscross the boroughs.

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​Once upon a time, people expressed concern come the New Year that they would forget to write the correct date on their checks. Because the only people who still use checks are con artists, there is one less thing to worry about as we ring in 2012. Still, it may be difficult to remember what year it is, and forgetting this information could be humiliating. That's why we've thought of a couple mnemonic devices to help you remember that, for the next 366 days, it will be 2012.

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Holler's slide at the Tate Modern.

​The New Museum is getting a slide! A Belgian artist named Carsten Höller, who has already installed slides in other cities around the world, is putting a big plastic slide in the Bowery museum. Like, really big, at least for indoors: the slide is 40 feet high and 102 feet long. Its installation begins next week and the slide will be open for "business" October 26th.

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​Since 1958, the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks display has been a New York City tradition. The fireworks were originally set off on the Hudson, but in 1976 they moved to the East River. Last year, they returned to the Hudson to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's exploration of the river. This year, the display will be on the Hudson again. It starts at 9:20 p.m. and should last 26 minutes. The theme of this year's show is "Gift of Freedom"; the event will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. After the jump, we've got some suggestions on where to watch the fireworks.

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