Unconventional Wisdom for the Convention

* Cost of downtown street-meter violation: $30

* Price of palm reading at Psychic Star at Hill Street and Olympic Boulevard: $10

* Price of tarot reading: $30

* Price of basic carwash at Downtown Car Wash at Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street: $9.99

* Price of shoeshine at Downtown Car Wash: $4

* Number of gas stations in 90012 ZIP Code: 6

* Cost of teeth whitening at Miranda Dental Office at Olive and 14th streets: $300

* Number of direct stops on the Metro Blue Line from Staples Center-adjacent Pico Station: 21

* Fare: $1.35

* Among a population of 6,000, number of drinks reportedly consumed on L.A. City election day in 1871: 12,000

* Estimated amount spent to buy votes in 1871: $20,000

* Standard rate paid to secure a vote on the City Council in 1871: $2

* Adult admission to Museum of Neon Art at Olympic Boulevard and Hope Street: $5

* Approximate feet of neon on view: 2,500

* Number of Los Angeles city mayors who have resigned: 3; who have died in office: 2; who were born in Los Angeles: 0

* Number of dollars in Mayor Richard Riordan’s annual salary: 1

* Number of loaves of bread served per day at Riordan-owned Original Pantry Cafe and bakery: 461

* Average number of meals served daily at Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row: 2,800

* Ratio of strip clubs to public libraries: 3 to 4

* One hour of hostess dancing at Danceland at Figueroa Street and Pico Boulevard: $24

* Average number of Danceland hostesses working on a Saturday night: 45

* Number of stores within five-block radius of Staples Center that sell mannequins: 9

* Price of female fiberglass mannequin at Acme Display Fixture Co. at Olive and 11th streets: $178

* Measurements of female fiberglass mannequin: 34-24-33 1/2

* Estimated number of apparel industry workers downtown: 22,300

* According to a plaque on Olvera Street, ethnic break-down of 22 adults who settled Los Angeles in 1781: “1 mestizo, 2 blacks, 8 mulattoes, 9 Indians and 2 Spaniards”

* Price of hamburger at Fox Sports Sky Box in Staples Center: $8.95

* Number of hamburgers $8.95 will buy at nearby Tony’s Burgers: 6.17

* Number of taco stands within five-block radius of Staples Center: 5

* Approximate percentage of LAPD officers on call during convention week: 100

* Percentage of physicians from HealthCare Partners Medical Group on Olympic Boulevard and Georgia Street that will be relocated to other offices “due to traffic, street closures and unsafe conditions”: 100

* Most expensive bottle of wine for sale downtown: $4,500 jeroboam of 1990 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon at Regal Biltmore Hotel

* Styles of voodoo dolls for sale at Botanica B & V at Pico Boulevard and Albany Street: 2

* Approximate mileage between Monica S. Lewinsky’s Beverly Hills family home and Staples Center: 15.6

* Los Angeles streets called Gore: 0; Bush: 1; Nader: 0; Buchanan: 7

* Number of historic movie palaces downtown: 12

* Number of those still in use as movie theaters: 2

* Number of those that now hold religious events: 3

* National ranking of downtown L.A. Men’s Central Jail in terms of number of inmates housed in a single facility: 1

* Height difference between Laker Shaquille O’Neal and President Bill Clinton: 11 inches

* Approximate number of round-trips a day on Angels Flight funicular: 180

* Hottest temperature recorded in downtown: 112 (June 26, 1990)

* Approximate number of chemicals in Los Angeles air: 200

* Time it takes Westin Bonaventure Hotel’s Bonavista Lounge to rotate once: 60 minutes

* Number of horses that have ridden in hotel’s glass elevator: 1

* Price of wedding at Guadalupe Wedding Chapel on Broadway: $140

* Price of restraining order at Guadalupe Wedding Chapel: $14

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--Compiled by Leslee Komaiko