Times Square New Year’s ball drop, 57, 80–81
traffic-snarling events, 80–81
trash disposal, 53
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
David Borgenicht would like to thank Sarah O’Brien, Jay Schaefer, Steve Mockus, Brianna Smith, Jenny Kraemer, and Brenda Brown for making this book happen—he’ll meet you on the top of the Empire State Building at midnight on Christmas Eve.
Ben H. Winters is deeply grateful to Sarah O’Brien, David Borgenicht, and everyone at Quirk and Chronicle for welcoming him into the delightful Worst-Case universe. He’d also like to thank all the experts for their input, as well as all his friends, friends-of-friends, and total strangers who replied to his weird and random “does anyone know…” e-mails. Finally, a word of advice: If you call the Metropolitan Transportation Authority many times, with a lot of really specific questions, people start to get a little suspicious.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
David Borgenicht is the creator and coauthor of all the books in the Worst-Case Scenario series, and is president and publisher of Quirk Books (www.quirkbooks.com). He visits New York every month, and has only been caught in the subway doors once. He lives in Philadelphia.
Ben H. Winters lives in Brooklyn, where he writes for the theater, hangs out with his little family, and periodically takes the F train to Coney Island to root for the Cyclones. This is Ben’s first book, and he’s delighted that—just like another great story of New York, Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence—it includes a chapter about a hot dog eating contest.
Brenda Brown is an illustrator and cartoonist whose work has been published in many books and publications, including the Worst-Case Scenario series, Esquire, Reader’s Digest, USA Weekend, 21st Century Science & Technology, the Saturday Evening Post, and the National Enquirer. Her Web site is www.webtoon.com.
MORE WORST-CASE SCENARIO PRODUCTS
Board games
Gadgets
Mobile
www.namcogames.com/WorstCaseScenario
Posters and puzzles
www.aquariusimages.com/wcs.html
For updates, new scenarios, and more, visit:
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www.chroniclebooks.com/worstcase
MORE WORST-CASE SCENARIOS
The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook
Travel
Dating & Sex
Golf
Holidays
Work
College
Weddings
Parenting
Extreme Edition
Life
History
Great Outdoors
Politics
Daily Survival Calendar
Daily Survival Calendar: Golf
Dogs
Breakups
Retirement
New York City
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by Quirk Productions, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Worst-Case Scenario® and The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook™ are trademarks of Quirk Productions, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN: 978-0-8118-6825-9
Manufactured in China.
Designed by Jenny Kraemer.
Illustrations by Brenda Brown.
Visit www.worstcasescenarios.com
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Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
WARNING: You really should have been more careful. Now you’re facing one of the worst-case scenarios presented in this book—at least you have the book with you, to refer to. But you must use your good judgment and common sense and consult a professionally trained expert to deal with these dangerous situations. The authors, publisher, and experts disclaim any liability from any injury that may result from the use, proper or improper, from the information contained in this book. Nothing herein should be construed or interpreted to infringe on the rights of other persons or to violate criminal statutes. We urge you to be respectful and safe.