Boy looking at giant sculpture of newborn baby, frantic: Where’s the penis? Where’s the penis?! Where’s the penis?!
Younger sister, calmly: It’s a girl baby.
–Mueck exhibit, Brooklyn Museum
Overheard by: office peon waited for the Leibovitz
Boy looking at giant sculpture of newborn baby, frantic: Where’s the penis? Where’s the penis?! Where’s the penis?!
Younger sister, calmly: It’s a girl baby.
–Mueck exhibit, Brooklyn Museum
Overheard by: office peon waited for the Leibovitz
Mom: … But it was hopeless. But I was stuck there, like a little Dutch boy with my finger in a dike for two hours.
Daughter: Huh? Like, a girl?
–Basement of the MoMA
Black man #1: Are you going to go to the museum tomorrow?
Black man #2: Hell yeah! I wanna know — how they make a nigga outta wax?!
–Outside Madame Tussaud’s, 42nd St
Overheard by: Laura
Classmate #1: Whatever happened to Hitler? Is he, like, still alive?
Classmate #2: Have you not been paying attention?
–Museum of Jewish Heritage
Security guard #1 rushing in: Where is the panic button?
Sales girl: I don’t even know what that is.
Security guard #1: It’s not under the counter? You don’t have a panic button? How can you not have a panic button?
Security guard #2: I think this is it. Here, on the wall behind you.
Security guard #1: Okay, okay. Okay, let’s press it and see if it works.
–Pierpont Morgan Museum Gift Shop
Overheard by: not-panicking
Woman #1: This line is ridiculous. Is everyone here to see the Annie Leibovitz show?
Woman #2: I guess so.
Woman #1: I haven’t seen the line be this bad since the poop exhibit.
Woman #2: What?
Woman #1: Remember? That crazy poop show? Giuliani wanted it banned, so everyone came to see it…
Woman #2: Oh! The poop show! That was good.
–Brooklyn Museum of Art
Overheard by: Aria Grillo
Woman: I just saw a girl go into the men’s bathroom.
Girl: That’s my boyfriend!
Woman: I’d kill to have that hair.
–Long line for bathroom, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Overheard by: sexyface
Skater kid: What’s the point of being gay if you like girls who dress like boys?
–42nd St, between 7th & 8th Ave
Lady on phone: Yeah, she was working at a factory, but she was passing as a man… Well, she didn’t last a week at the factory.
–Bus in Lincoln Tunnel
TA: We live in a two-gender system of society. There’s no green ‘It’s a hermaphrodite!’ balloon to put out on your front lawn.
–NYU Silver Center
Overheard by: Limey
Chick: I mean, I feel frumpy here. For real. I’m sick of being like, ‘That guy is skinnier than me, has on nicer jeans, and has better makeup.’
–26th St
Overheard by: agrees with that girl
College student on cell: Great, I’ll see you soon. Can I be dressed as a woman?
–114th & Broadway
Mom to very young son: Some things are for boys, and some things are for girls. It was cute when you were little, but now it’s time to differentiate.
–Target, Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn
Woman: So, what you’re saying is, you want me to leave my calendar open so that you could possibly cancel on me?
Old lady: Yes.
–Annie Leibovitz exhibit, Brooklyn Museum
Overheard by: d.s.
