I live in The Big Apple aka New York City. I have no idea where the title came from but I do know NYS is well known for its apples.
Not a city but a state. New York is nicknamed the 'Empire State'. This has led to a lot of confusion. My FIL once said the NY could no longer use that nickname because other states had a larger population. Bill Bryson wondered if NYS had overseas territories.
Neither of these are true. NY is the Empire State because of the Erie Canal. In the early days of the USA, the region west of the eastern mountains was called the Inland Empire. Before the Erie Canal, getting there was long and dangerous. The canal made settlement much easier. That is why NYS is called the Empire State.
I always thought NYS was the Empire State because of the Empire State building LOL - I guess maybe the building took the title from the state and not the state took the title from the building, huh? Guess I shoulda thought that one through!
Growing up my family often would go through Mylan New Hampshire on our way to Dummer NH. There was a store in Mylan that sold t-shirts "The folks in Mylan may not be smart, but the next town over is Dummer" - I guess that's not a
title, but it is a fun play on a place name!
