| Coals to Newcastle |
15 December 2003
|
New York City Snowballs Sell for a Buck
New Yorkers have an unfortunate provincialism about them that is summed up with their catch-phrase "Only in New York." The belief that their city, and only their city, has a corner on the off-beat suggests that they must do more traveling. However, the sight of a man selling snowballs in Times Square for $1 each (after 14 inches of snow fell in Central Park) merits some consideration as truly a case of "Only in New York" -- one hopes.
Gilberto Triplitt, according to the Daily News, made $9.50 by selling snowballs last week. He explained the decimal away saying that he had sold a small one for fifty cents. Photos for Christmas cards were free, it would seem, as more than one snapshot was taken without money changing hands.
The same snowstorm dropped several inches in Boston, but there were no reports of snowball sales by Faneuil Hall. In Moscow, there was a car bombing near Red Square, but, no snowball sales were featured on "Vremya" or in Pravda. North into Quebec, no reporters filed stories on the crafty Quebecois selling snowballs, even at the discounted price of a Canadian dollar.
Perhaps, it is the mercenary nature of the city. Perhaps, it is a sign that disposable income has risen in Manhattan. Perhaps, Mr. Triplitt has a solid marketing team whose focus-groups have uncovered an untapped market. Perhaps, New York just needed a laugh more than anywhere else last week. For whatever the reason, a snowball in New York City sells for $1 -- fifty cents for a small one. In Manhattan, snowball fights are only for the rich.
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