The NYC Subway System Shuts Down Entirely To Be Cleaned For The First Time in 115 Years

Welcome to another historical day in the pandemic where a video of subway cleaners in New York City has gone viral on Twitter. The largest subway system in the United States decided to shutdown for the first time in 115 years last night to fully disinfect all of the underground trains in New York City, and it's pretty much all anyone can talk about. While the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) claims that the trains are cleaned on a nightly basis, it was the phrasing of a CBS News tweet that sent many confused users to send "115 Years" to trend.

It appears many assumed that the NYC subway system hadn't been cleaned at all in 115 years, based on the jokes, GIFs, and memes that flooded Twitter. And while some users did jump in and confirm that it was actually the 24/7 subway system itself that was being shut down for the first time in 115 years, many were left wondering why the trains still seem pretty gross in appearance if they're being cleaned on a regular basis.

 
The video that started it all.

For the first time in 115 years, overnight subway service in New York City has been shut down to clean trains amid the pandemic https://t.co/OWHu7mhlJA pic.twitter.com/WV2aAPYJKk

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 6, 2020

 
It appears movie theatres are cleaner.

privately owned movie theaters sweep the floors every 120 minutes, and scrub them every nightgovernment owned trains are cleaned once every 115 years https://t.co/yTenDLbYN6

— Dogs Don't Make Jokes Near Humorless People (@MorlockP) May 6, 2020

 

lol damn the trains I’ve been taking everyday for 5 years haven’t been cleaned in 115 years… no words… pic.twitter.com/MR3rkgF8fG

— Ruby (@_rubyjfb) May 6, 2020

 

Society now that the NYC trains have been cleaned for the first time in 115 years pic.twitter.com/kZMvanqdHb

— trey (@whotrey) May 6, 2020

 
Many users wondered why it took until May for this historical process to occur?

Wild that no one thought of this in the first 115 years. Or you know, in the first few months of a deadly pandemic. https://t.co/Eka63BKKMi

— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) May 6, 2020

 

First time cleaning or first time shutting down? 😂😂

— Ben Jammin 🇺🇸 (@xBenJamminx) May 6, 2020

 

No, ROSE.. actually it's been 115 Years since the MTA shutdown trains to give them a proper CLEANING!!!! pic.twitter.com/YrlKZBP8PR

— Matt Rappaport (@nyactor) May 6, 2020

 
People from Florida were even mocking New York today.

Lmfaoo NY dirty ASF 😂😂😂😂 dont yall ever come on this app talking bout FL again.. 115 years yikess https://t.co/V4LBkLe29Y

— Mike Jones ♊️ (@freakygemini__) May 6, 2020

 
Ted Cruz even decided to weigh in.

Probably should clean them more frequently than once every 115 years. https://t.co/KXMal2McAm

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 6, 2020

 
Many historical comparisons were made.

Yes, the subway hasn't been cleaned ever in 115 years and it still looks like this! pic.twitter.com/ph1XJdBdYr

— Sam Ehrlich (@Sam_Ehrlich) May 6, 2020

 

The trains haven't been deep cleaned 115 years, which means we might still find blood stains from two guys fighting over a bootleg bootle of booze during prohibition… https://t.co/Us9DVVOJLQ

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) May 6, 2020

 

115 years? Finally cleaned that bloodstain from when Teddy Roosevelt punched an organ grinder. https://t.co/bSKuld4IoZ

— jon gabriel (@exjon) May 6, 2020

 

It took 115 years & 2 Great Depressions to happen for them to clean the trains? pic.twitter.com/Rt6rgWLBSC

— 🔸𝑁 𝐸 𝑂 𝑁 𝑆 𝐴 𝐺 𝐸 🔸 (@Y2KBabyV) May 6, 2020

 
And yet many believed that this process wouldn't exactly help at all.

gonna get on this subway and its still gonna smell like straight musty ass 115 years my guy cmon pic.twitter.com/ZvCwKgVYDL

— TimeLordReaper (@TheApexLord) May 6, 2020

 
Some users were eager to correct the information being shared by the tweet.

I know that they mean that the subway system hasn’t been shut down overnight in 115 years but the fact that everyone fully believes that they meant it’s been 115 years since the trains were cleaned at all says everything you need to know about the MTA. https://t.co/0cvhRAkf6I

— Sarah McGonagall (@sarahmcgphoto) May 6, 2020

 

Reminded that people struggle with simple reading comprehension when I realized y’all think the trains haven’t been cleaned in 115 years, as opposed to the tweet meaning they stopped the overnight service for the first time in 115 years to clean the trains. Both are nasty tho yes

— ike. (@ikeonic_) May 6, 2020

 
One thing is for sure, perhaps this deep cleaning should occur more often?

What’s sad is that this has not been a routine.

— Christopher Karpinski (@Karpinski_C) May 6, 2020