[PRCo] Re: More than you wanted to know about Pitttsburgh

[Fred W. Schneider III]

KYW -- "All News 1060" has been in Philadelphia for as long as I can
remember.  By the way, traffic accidents are reported all day long "on
the sixes" .. 06, 16, 26, etc. I listened to KYW on the way to work in
Harrisburg when I started with the state in December 1968 and it is
still in Filthydelphia. 

FWS

"Edward H. Lybarger" wrote:
> 
> The Big Mac was "invented" (obviously copied from the Big Boy) by the
> McGristle's franchisee in Uniontown.  I still can't eat 'em, but Eat 'n
> Park's same-old, same-old sandwich tastes just fine.
> 
> KDKA and KQV have been permanent fixtures in Pittsburgh since 1920.  KYW has
> been bounced around...I recall when I was in college that it was in
> Cleveland, and recently recall reading something about its being somewhere
> else, as well.
> 
> The Westinghouse-Edison feud took on some wild dimensions...Edison was
> running around the country electrocuting animals for the express purpose of
> demonstrating how dangerous the Westinghouse system was!
> 
> Ed
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Rathke [mailto:bobrathke at home.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2001 4:35 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org; Bruce D Wells; John Swindler; Fred
> W Schneider III; Ed Lybarger; David W. Gove; Arthur S. Ellis
> Subject: More than you wanted to know about Pitttsburgh
> 
> These claims all sound legitimate.  Some comments::
> 
> - I remember getting Mr, Yuk stickers from Children's Hospital in 1971 -
> they did indeed introduce them.
> 
> - The Big Mac was introduced in Pittsburgh in 1967, but other restaurant
> chains had similar double-deck hamburgers (e.g., Eat N Park's "Big Boy") in
> the early 1950s.
> 
> - I remember out of town guests' reactions the first time they saw pull-tabs
> on Iron City Beer cans in 1962.  I didn't see pull tabs in other cities
> until 1966.  Regent Pop (a local Pittsburgh brand) had twist-top cans in
> 1953, but they didn't catch on.
> 
> - I took some photos of the Civic Arena dome under construction in 1960.
> The retractable dome was built for Civic Light Opera performances there.  On
> warm summer nights, they'd open the dome at intermission.  I believe the
> last time they regularly opened the dome was in the late 1960s.
> 
> - WQED had a test broadcast on 4/1/54, but they didn't start regular
> programming until 4/5/54.  I watched both nights.
> 
> - KDKA was first, but KQV also went on the air in Pittsburgh in1920.  This
> was before the time that the government assaigned "K" call letters to cities
> west of the Missississippi.  I believe there are only three "K" stations in
> the East - two in Pittsburgh, and one (KYW) in Philadelphia.
> 
> - Thomas Edison was the champion of DC current, but Westinghouse and its AC
> won out.
> 
> Bob 9/4/01
> 
> ---------------------------
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <tsquare at toad.net>
> To: "Bruce D Wells" <bwells at nauticom.net>; "John Swindler"
> <swindler at hotmail.com>; "Fred W Schneider III" <fschnei at supernet.com>; "PRCo
> Group" <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>; "Ed Lybarger" <twg at pulsenet.com>;
> "David W. Gove" <dwg at mlynk.com>; "Arthur S. Ellis" <arthurls at nauticom.net>
> Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 10:36 PM
> Subject: [PRCo] First in the 'Burgh..,
> 
> >
> > 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.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >