Photo via Metropod

For all the talk about New York City being the city that never sleeps, we were surprised (and delighted) when we discovered that there used to be an entire floor of “nap pods” in the Empire State Building. At MetroNaps on the 24th floor, tired New Yorkers could kick back in a space-ship-like chair to catch some much-needed zzz’s in twenty minute intervals. Sadly, the location closed in 2008 before the franchise could expand (due to a change in visitor policies at the Empire State Building), but MetroNaps still rents out its “EnergyPods” to businesses like Google, and spas.

The pods at the Empire State Building, which looked look like something out of Star Trek (or maybe more like something out of Brave New World) were essentially cushy grey chaise lounges with a white, plastic base that swoops up into a bassinet-like hood; the chairs provided varying degrees of darkness and a choice of ambient sounds (think chirping birds, ocean surf, that kind of thing) with which to lull their occupants to sleep during their weekday lunch or coffee breaks.

Next, read about the Top 10 Secrets of the Empire State Building. Get in touch with the author @kellitrapnell.

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