Girl to friend: When I was in 4th grade my teacher made me take the butterflies home to let them grow. What happened? They fucking died! I came back to school and looked like an idiot because I was the only black girl in my class. Leave it to the damn black girl to kill the butterflies and ruin it for the whole class!
–52nd St
Tourist to another, looking at Ellis Island: Look, there is Alcatraz!
–Staten Island Ferry
Little tourist girl to dad: Why are there so many brown people in this city?
–Lexington & 59th St
Tourist: We have made it to the center of the earth!
–Times Square
Overheard by: Lance Torres
Tourist: Wow! Times Square is really busy tonight.
–Times Square
Overheard by: erkala
Teenage tourist: Soooo… It's like a little bus… On rails… That goes in a tunnel?
–42nd & 7th
Guy: She *is* stupid. But in this unbelievably sexy way, so you don't even care.
–10th St & 3rd Ave
16-year-old black girl, about Shia LaBeouf: He's the sexiest white boy. I'm gonna rape his ass.
–Battery Park
Teen girl on cell: I would never have sexy mushrooms in front of my mom.
–Time Warner Center
Overheard by: Scott
20-something girl on cell: Nah, I won't play second bitch! She's just mad because I always look nice and keep my sexy up.
–Park Slope
Girl #1: Oh my god! What happened to your face?!
Girl #2, with black eye: I got pimp-slapped.
Girl #1: What does that mean?
Girl #2: You know, like when a ho gets out of line, her pimp backhands her. You know, like “bitch, where's my money?!” (pauses) Smack!
Girl #1: What? You were slapped by a pimp?
Girl #2, annoyed: No! Ugghh, Derek* hit me!
Girl #1: I don't get it, I thought he was a lawyer.
Girl #2: You are such a fucking idiot… You're buying me lunch.
–Chelsea
Customer: No, I don't want to dry it here. Thank you.
Laundromat owner: Why not?
Customer: It shrinks in the dryer and I don't want to go out with it like that.
Laundromat owner: Ah, what does it matter if it shrinks, man?
–Laundromat, 8th Ave & 20th St
Overheard by: Katherine
Annoying teenage girl: Hop off my dick, hop off my dick!
Teenage boy: You don't have a dick.
Annoying teenage girl: You don't need a dick to say you have one.
–4 Train
Overheard by: Emm
Male NYU student: Sound bites! I mean… Fucking sound bites! And that's all they have! These people don't actually know what they are talking about!
Female NYU student: (hesitant murmur of agreement)
Male NYU student, stopping to look at coffee table book: Oh man! Hunter S. Thompson! Have you read him? One of the great… beat poets.
–The Strand Bookstore
Overheard by: Ben
Dude: Anne Frank looks really hot.
Random woman : What's the matter with you? Don't you have any respect?
Dude: Oh, sorry. With all due respect, Anne Frank is really hot.
–Prospect Park
Latin guy behind deli counter: Do you need anything else, ma?
Crazy white lady: Don't call me “ma”! I'm not black, I'm not Spanish! I'm American!
–Key Foods, Park Slope, Brooklyn
