San Francisco Facts

15 million gallons of wine were destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Methuselah, an Australian lungfish at San Francisco's Steinhart Aquarium, has lived in the same tank since November 1938 - before World War II began. DNA analysis in 2023 estimated her age at between 92 and 101 years old, making her the oldest living aquarium fish in the world. She still gets belly rubs from her keepers and her favorite treat is fresh figs.

San Francisco's Financial District is built on top of more than 40 Gold Rush ships, possibly 70 or more. In 1849, crews abandoned their vessels to chase the gold rush, then built new streets right over the hulls. Workers hit one ship, the Rome, while digging a Muni tunnel in 1994. Every day, trains rumble through its hull.