Manhattan Monday

-The new Bermuda Triangle: the AAA tows more disabled cars away from the area around the Empire State Building than any place in the city. It's suspected that the ESB's giant radio tower is disabling car locks and triggering those security systems that turn your car off when it's stolen.

-The MTA is expanding the tap-and-go payment system to some bus lines. But they are looking for something "smarter" than smart cards. Retina scans?

-Manhattan's population has declined by over one million in the last hundred years. Population in 1910: 2,762,522. Estimated 2006 population: 1,611,581. Yeah, it feels totally like a ghost town.

-If the Giants win the Super Bowl, the stock market will go up, according to the Super Bowl Stock Theory.

-The tuna in NYC's sushi restaurants is apparently loaded with mercury. Mmm, thermometery.

-West Village residents rallied this weekend in support of keeping Pier 40 a public park. Private companies are bidding for the pier. Proposals include a company that wants to build a $625 million performing-arts center there, including a permanent home for Cirque du Soleil and the Tribeca Film Festival.

-You think you've had bad online dates? At least yours didn't involve al Qaeda. Her solution: sue for $50M.