When you think of New York, aka the Big Apple, you probably think of the bright lights and busy traffic of Times Square! It's huge, it's bustling, and it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world - and you're about to learn all about it! Read on to find out its original name, why it's famous, and why it's such an awesome place to visit! We've got so many more fun facts for you too - learn all about the Statue of Liberty, or head to Scotland and learn about Skara Brae!

1. It's not a square!

That's right! Times Square is actually made up of two intersecting triangles - so it's more like a bowtie! It is a square in the urban sense, as it's an open public space in the middle of a city that serves as a meeting and commercial space.

2. It used to have another name!

Times Square was first named Longacre Square in 1872, after Long Acre in London, which was where the London horse and carriage trade was centred. Longacre Square was where the American Horse exchange was based, so it made perfect sense. In 1904, the newspaper The New York Times moved its headquarters into Longacre Square at a brand-new skyscraper, and the area was renamed Times Square! The New York Times moved to bigger offices in 1913, but the name stuck.

3. It's home to the electric billboard

When you think of Times Square, you probably envision those enormous glowing billboards that cover the whole area! Times Square has a lot of nicknames, and one of them is The Great White Way. This comes from the light emitted by the famous billboards, and the very first one appeared in 1904, just three weeks after the Square was renamed. The billboards then weren't as sophisticated as the ones you'll see nowadays, but they were a great new way to grab the attention of shoppers at the turn of the century. In modern New York it's written into city law that the buildings in Times Square have to have the billboards, as they've become a tourist attraction in their own right!

4. And Broadway!

If you're a theatre nerd then THIS is what you'll already associate Times Square with! Broadway is a very long road that makes up part of Times Square. It starts in lower Manhattan, and continues all the way out of the city and into upstate New York, where it ends near the town of Sleepy Hollow. But the name is synonymous with America's famous theatre scene, with a lot of famous theatres clustered in the Times Square area. Times Square became known for its theatres and restaurants as early as the 1890s, and it grew over time into 41 theatres with 500 seats, all showing premium theatrical entertainment! Most famous musicals have been staged on Broadway, including Phantom of the Opera, Cats, The Lion King, Chicago, Wicked, Hamilton, Sweeney Todd, Mary Poppins, Matilda, Hairspray, Six - and so many more! Since 1992 Times Square has also hosted "Broadway on Broadway", a free concert where the stars of the stage sing for theatre fans!

5. Shops and restaurants (economy!)

If you love musicals AND you love to shop, then you've just found heaven! Times Square is where a lot of huge brands have their flagship stores (the biggest shop they have) in Times Square. At the moment this includes M&Ms World, Hershey's Chocolate World, Superdry, H&M, and a HUGE Disney Store! There also used to be an enormous Toys R Us there too, which had a life-sized Barbie Dreamhouse, an animatronic T-Rex, and an actual Ferris wheel! Sadly it doesn't exist any more, but there's still plenty to explore! Times Square makes up 10% of New York's economy, bringing in about $110 BILLION annually. But if you want to set up a shop here it'll cost a lot - more than $2,000 per square foot per year!

6. It can be seen from space!

The Great White Way is SO bright, that its illuminations can be seen from space! Okay, you couldn't make out individual billboards, but astronauts can spot the bright spot from high in the sky!

7. It's famous for its New Year party!

On New Year's Eve every year a huge party takes place in Times Square! The New Year is ushered in when a huge, illuminated ball is lowered from the roof of One Times Square (the location of the original New York Times office), along with biodegradable confetti. This started in 1907 and has continued almost every year, though in WWII it was replaced by a minute's silence and the sound of bells, to respect people at war and to comply with the blackout rules. The biggest crowd gathered in 1999 to welcome the millennium - about two million revellers in total!

8. It's one of the top visited sites in the world

Times Square isn't a paid attraction so it's hard to quantify exactly how many people visit every year, but the number is estimated at 50 million! That makes it the USA's top tourist attraction, with Central Park (also in NYC) at number 2, and the Las Vegas strip at number 3!

9. It once hosted some AMAZING celebrations

The USA celebrated Victory in Europe Day on the 8th of May 1945, and then followed it up on the 15th of August with Victory over Japan Day, marking the end of WWII. On VJ Day about 2 milion people gathered in Times Square to celebrate, which was the biggest crowd EVER assembled and wasn't matched until NYE 1999!

10. You can visit a revolving restaurant!

A few cities have revolving restaurants, which are a great way to see an entire cityscape as you dine! Times Square offers one called The View, which is 48 storeys high and takes an hour to turn 360 degrees.

11. It's never silent

New York is known as the city that never sleeps, and Times Square is no exception, but it DOES get quiet in the early hours of the morning. But even if you totally removed all the people and cars, it wouldn't be fully silent. American artist Max Neuhaus specialised in sound installations (works of art that consist of recorded sounds), and in 1977 he placed one in Times Square. It's called Times Square but it's also known as the hum or Times Square Hum, and it sounds like a pulsating hum or drone. It was removed in 1992 but reinstalled in 2002, and you can find it under a grate between Broadway and Seventh Avenue. There's no plaque, so you'll just have to use your ears!

12. It used to be kind of dodgy!

Times Square has kind of a corny touristy image nowadays, but that certainly wasn't always the case! Even though it was full of theatres and high-class restaurants in the early 1900s, by the 1960s it had gone downhill a bit, and in the 70s and 80s it had a reputation as a super dodgy area. Crime in NYC increased a lot in this time, and Times Square was known as a hub for it. By the early 1990s Times Square was pretty dilapidated and it had a very bad reputation - most tourists wouldn't go near it! In the 1980s and 1990s there was a building boom in the area, and the city invested in making it into a family-friendly area. It certainly paid off!

13. Most New Yorkers avoid it!

If you're lucky enough to know a New Yorker, you can ask them to take you to Times Square - but they might not enjoy doing it! About 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily and many of them are tourists. Locals often say they avoid the area unless they work there because it's so busy and expensive. New Yorkers also like to move quickly, and tourists prefer to move at a slower pace so they can take everything in. If you live in a touristy area, you might feel like this - what do you think?

14. You can hire a billboard!

Did you know YOU can feature on one of those famous billboards? If you have a spare $150, you can put up a picture of you and your nearest and dearest at a billboard above the Pele Store! At this price, it will show for 15 seconds every hour.

15. It's just the beginning of NYC!

When you visit New York, you must go to Times Square and lap up the bright lights, huge restauarants, and a Broadway show or two! And New York is a HUGE city with a long history and a LOT going on - and you have everything else still to discover! Head north and check out Central Park, move downtown and see the Village, or go on a spree of all the museums the city has to offer! It really is the city that never sleeps, and you have so much to discover!