The New York Times remembered that adage as it examined the tremendous growth in subway traffic on the weekends, a sign of how much New York has changed (read improved) in the past two decades.
This story tells you a lot about the city, and journalism techniques. Note how the Times ignored the usual rule about an immediate peg to hook the story to a long term trend, although it did use the recent cutbacks as a way to give the story some immediacy.
And then note how they buried a key fact that hurt their thesis. Despite the general thrust the the story, ridership on the weekends remains half that of during the week.