Ghetto teen #1: Is it okay to write ‘Well, damn?!’ in a college essay?
Ghetto teen #2: No! It’s not appropriate enough. Let me see that… Damn. You sound arrogant as shit in this. Write something else.
Ghetto teen #1: What the hell am I s’posed to say? ‘Geez, Louise’?
–Columbia University
Overheard by: Cyndi
English exchange student: I like New York, but it has just been so cold!
Local student: This is nothing. Where I’m from in Minnesota it’s been 15 below.
English exchange student: Wow! You must not have much of a homeless problem there — they all just die!
–Downtown M4 bus
Teacher: When you grow up you can be anything you want!
Second grader: I can be an elephant?!
–P.S. 121
Teacher: So, as you can see, this car in the picture reduces air resistance and can accelerate faster.
Student #1, chuckling: Yeah, and plus, it’s yellow, so that makes it faster, too.
Teacher, laughing: Haha, yeah, very true.
Student #2: Wait, really?
–Physics class, St. Ann’s School
Overheard by: Mike N
SUNY purchase student #1: My fucking head hurts.
SUNY purchase student #2 pulling out bag of white pills: Dude, take these pills. You’ll feel better.
SUNY purchase student #1: Uh… What are they?
SUNY purchase student #2: Uh, codeine I think? I don’t know. Yeah, I stole them from a kid at the party last night. He said he found them in a garbage can.
SUNY purchase student #1: Jesus, dude, no.
–Grand Central
NYU bimbette #1: I found out he’s uncircumcised.
NYU bimbette #2: I know. I can tell from the way he talks.
–NYU dorm lobby
Overheard by: ashamed
Asian kid #1: In my classes the teacher is always pairing me up with the other minorities. Just because I’m Asian doesn’t mean I speak all those languages, too.
Asian kid #2: I could close my eyes walking down the street and count to five and when I open them see at least one other Asian. We’re everywhere.
–LIRR
Russian guy on cell: I went to see Saw III. Best movie ever — the girl in front of me fainted in the beginning of the movie! Five minutes into the movie she just fainted, and her boyfriend started calling for help. I called an ambulance, they took her away… That movie was awesome!
–Brooklyn-bound Q train
Overenthusiastic male student: Oh! I met Borat! He goes to NYU, right?
–Hunter College
Guy to everyone in theater: Shhh, I’m recording this!
–Movie theater, Court St, Brooklyn
Blonde: Yeah, so I watch Brokeback Mountain like it’s my Bible. I hang on every word, ’cause I really want to know how gay people talk.
–Times Square
Overheard by: Stina
Guy on cell: 28 Days was just stupid. Zombies aren’t like that. Dawn of the Dead is the most realistic portrayal of zombies I’ve ever seen!
–Grand Central
Overheard by: Philip Niosi
Chick to hipsters: I did my first autopsy to The Wizard of Oz.
–The Village, near Mulberry
Overheard by: DC Diva
Student: You’re Jewish?
Professor: Yes.
Student: Where’s your hat?
Professor: What?
Student: Why do you guys all wear glasses?
–FIT
Student: I mean, I’m really bad at Geography. Like, what state is that?
Professor: Long Island.
–NYU
Overheard by: Lizanne
