Historical comments on Bridges and Islands: Buying the Brooklyn Bridge:
When first built, the Brooklyn Bridge was a toll bridge, even levying a toll on pedestrian traffic. Hence, owning a bridge like that would be tantamount to owning a press that printed genuine currency. Some local sharpies developed (ah, a reference to photography) the practice of selling this apparently lucractive thoroughfare to visiting rubes. Now, crossing the bridge does not involve a toll, and the old reason for purchasing it is gone, but the phrase lingers. Buying the island of Manhattan: When the Dutch came to what is now New York City, they brought with them the quaint European concept of land ownership. Being good businessmen, the Dutch immediately tried to vastly underpay for the property they desired. They offered their c. $24 worth of trinkets to the locals they encountered for Manhattan. Land ownership was a foreign concept to the people living in the area, so they took the money and conveyed the land. Shortly after the deal was consumated, the Carnarsie Indians went back home to the area they lived in - Brooklyn. (They were just visiting.) Hmm, who cheated whom? Larry in Dallas (who actually grew up in NYC)
