[PRCo] First in the 'Burgh..,

[tsquare at toad.net]

Subject: First in the 'Burgh...

NOTE: I PASS THIS E-MAIL MESSAGE ON FOR WHATEVER IT'S WORTH -- 
      I CAN'T SUBSTANTIATE MOST OF THE FOLLOWING: 

NOTE: PERHAPS SOME OF THE PTM MEMBERS CAN ADD SOME PRCo FACTS
	TO THIS LIST.


Pittsburgh was the first city in the world to do a lot of neat things!
Here are a few of the most well-known:

First Heart, Liver, Kidney Transplant - December 3, 1989
The first simultaneous heart, liver and kidney transplant was done at
Presbyterian-University Hospital.

First Internet Emoticon - 1980
The Smiley was the first Internet emoticon, created in 1980 by
Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Scott Fahlman.

First Robotics Institute - 1979 
The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University was established 
in 1979 to conduct basic and applied research in robotics technologies 
relevant to industrial and societal tasks.

First Mr. Yuk Sticker - 1971
Mr. Yuk was created at the Poison Center at Children's Hospital of
Pittsburgh after research indicated that the skull and crossbones
previously used to identify poisons had little meaning to the children
of today (for most children it means exciting things like pirates and
adventure).  Covering 27 counties and 33 percent of Pennsylvania's
population, the Pittsburgh Poison  Center at Children's Hospital of
Pittsburgh is the largest such center in the United States.

First Night World Series Game - 1971
Game 4 of the 1971 World Series was the first night game in Series
history.  Pittsburgh tied the series in that game with a 4-3 win and
went on to win the series, 4 games to 3. This was one of the last
big moments in the career of well-loved Pirate, Roberto Clemente.
Fourteen and a half months after the 1971 World Series, he died in a
plane  crash off the coast of his native Puerto Rico as he attempted
to take food, clothing, and medical supplies to earthquake victims 
in Nicaragua.

First Big Mac - 1967
Created by Jim Delligatti at his McDonald's, the Big Mac debuted and 
was test marketed in three other Pittsburgh-area McDonald's 
restaurants in 1967.  By 1968 it was a mainstay on McDonald's menus
throughout the country and, eventually, the world.  (EDITORIAL: This
is a McDonald's claim which I dispute -- the "Big Mac" was a direct 
copy of the patented "Big Boy" sandwich sold by various chains
-- notably Frisch's in the Cincinnati area, Shoney's, Elby's, and 
others -- in 1954, perhaps much earlier.  This patent was the 
property of and licensed by its creator, a returning WW2 Vet in 
California, circa 1945.)

First Pull-Tab on Cans - 1962
The pull-tab was developed by Alcoa and was first used by Iron City
Brewery in 1962.  For many years, pull-tabs were only used in this
area.

First Retractable Dome - September 1961
Pittsburgh's Civic Arena boasts the world's first auditorium with a
retractable roof.

First U.S. Public Television Station - WQED - April 1, 1954
WQED, operated by the Metropolitan Pittsburgh Educational Station,
was the first community-sponsored educational television station in
America  and was also the first to telecast classes to elementary
schools (1955).

First Polio Vaccine - March 26, 1953
The polio vaccine was developed by Dr. Jonas E. Salk, a 38-year-old
University of Pittsburgh researcher and professor, and his staff at
the University of Pittsburgh.

First Aluminum-faced Building - ALCOA - August 1953
The first aluminum-faced skyscraper was the Alcoa Building, a
30-story, 410 foot structure with thin stamped aluminum panels 
forming the exterior walls.

First Zippo Lighter - 1932
George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo lighter in 1932 in Bradford,
Pennsylvania. You can even find the name of the manufacturing
location, either Bradford or Niagara Falls, Canada, stamped on the 
bottom of every Zippo lighter.

First Bingo Game - early 1920's
Hugh J. Ward first came up with the concept of bingo in Pittsburgh
and began running the game at carnivals in the early 1920s, taking 
it nationwide in 1924.  He secured a copyright on the game and wrote 
a book of Bingo rules in 1933.

First US Commercial Radio Station - KDKA - November 2, 1920
Dr. Frank Conrad, assistant chief engineer of Westinghouse Electric,
first constructed a transmitter and installed it in a garage near 
his home in Wilkinsburg in 1916.  The station was licensed as 8XK.  
At 6 p.m. on Nov. 2, 1920, 8XK became KDKA Radio and began 
broadcasting at 100 watts from a make-shift shack atop one of the 
Westinghouse manufacturing buildings in East Pittsburgh. (NOTE:
In the 1930's there was another Pittsburgh radio station - W8XK -- 
I do not know if and how this station might have been affiliated 
with KDKA -- a possibility is that KDKA was NBC's Red Network and 
W8XK was NBC's Blue Network - but I can't substantiate this.)

The First Gas Station - December, 1913 
In 1913 the first automobile service
station , built by Gulf Refining Company, opened in Pittsburgh at 
Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street  in East Liberty.   It was 
designed by J. H. Giesey.

The First Baseball Stadium in the U.S. - 1909
In 1909 the first baseball stadium, Forbes Field, was built in
Pittsburgh, followed soon by similar stadiums in Chicago, Cleveland,
Boston, and New York.  Forbes Field closed in 1970 when Three Rivers
Stadium opened.  PNC Park is the newest replacement, opening in 2001.

First Motion Picture Theatre - 1905
The first theater in the world devoted to the exhibition of motion
pictures was the "Nickelodeon," opened by Harry Davis on Smithfield
Street in Pittsburgh.

First Banana Split - 1904
The banana split was invented by Dr. David Strickler, a pharmacist, 
at Strickler's Drug Store in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

The First World Series - 1903
The Boston Pilgrims defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to
three in baseball's first modern World Series in 1903. The Pirates 
lost the final game 4-3, before a crowd of 7,455 in Boston. Four of 
the series games were played in Pittsburgh.

First Ferris Wheel - 1892/1893
The first Ferris Wheel, invented by Pittsburgh native and civil
engineer, George Washington Gale Ferris (1859-1896) was in operation
at the World's Fair (Columbian Exposition) in Chicago. It was over 
264 feet high and was capable of carrying more than 2,000 passengers 
at a time.

Long-Distance Electricity - 1885
Westinghouse Electric developed alternating current, allowing long-
distance transmission of electricity for the first time.

First Air Brake - 1869
The first practical air brake for railroads was invented by George
Westinghouse in the 1860s and patented in 1869. In the same year he
organized the Westinghouse Air Brake Company.  With additional
automatic features incorporated into its design, the air brake 
became widely accepted, and the Railroad Safety Appliance Act of 
1893 made air brakes compulsory on all American trains.