"The History of Chinatown"

A lot of people ask me about the history of Chinatown, and I always have to remind them that there are actually several "Chinatowns," but that the story of the first Chinatown, which originated in New York, begins with a Hungarian immigrant named Pat China.

Pat China made a killing selling high-quality plates and eating utensils -- that he himself crafted -- called Pat's Chinaware (later just known as Chinaware), and also "Fine China." After a rocky start, his business flourished beyong his wildest dreams. But the success went to his head, and soon he was to leave his native Hungary for New York, where he spent his life savings buying up what would now comprise roughly three city blocks. This land he christened "Chinatown," a town that he was the god and ruler of. (It is important to note that Pat originally planned on buying all of what is now Brooklyn, but severly miscomputed the exhange rate of the nieve [pronounced neve and the basis of all Hungarian currency] with that of the dollar.

In the end, the name stuck around, yet sadly Pat China did not: He died of a heart attack four months after stepping foot in America. The dude lived hard.