Pennsylvania Trivia & Tidbits - Page 11

Looking for Pennsylvania trivia? Try our list Pennsylvania little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg is reportedly the largest indoor agricultural event in America. Nearly 400,000 attendees get to see more than 8,300 exhibits spread over 16 acres—all under one roof.

first appeared: 5/18/2003

Little League baseball began in Williamsport (pop. 32,500) in 1939 when Carl Stotz, George Bebble, and Bert Bebble secured a $30 donation to buy uniforms for three teams.

first appeared: 5/11/2003

The longest stone masonry arch bridge in the world is reportedly the Rockville Bridge in Marysville (pop. 2,498). Built in 1902, its 48 arches span a distance of 3,830 feet.

first appeared: 5/4/2003

Pennsylvania’s nickname, “The Keystone State,” describes its geographic position in the middle of the original 13 colonies. Like the keystone of an arch, Pennsylvania was seen as holding the colonies together.

first appeared: 4/27/2003

In 1887, a spirited group of groundhog-hunters in Punxsutawney (pop. 6,811) dubbed themselves “The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.” The local newspaper editor, a member, proclaimed “Phil” the only official weather prognosticating groundhog.

first appeared: 4/20/2003

Incorporated in 1846, the Pennsylvania Railroad became one of the world’s largest rail companies, at one time operating 7,000 locomotives and 250,000 cars.

first appeared: 4/13/2003

Cumberland County’s Daniel Drawbaugh claimed to have invented the telephone before Alexander Graham Bell. When his patent case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, the judges voted 5-4 for Bell.

first appeared: 4/6/2003

Allentown’s name is derived from Chief Justice William Allen of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Before drawing up plans in the mid-1700s for the village that would bear his name, he was mayor of Philadelphia.

first appeared: 3/30/2003

Washington and Jefferson College in Washington (pop. 15,184), one of the oldest colleges west of the Allegheny mountains, sent a team to the Rose Bowl in 1922. It battled heavily favored California to a 0-0 tie.

first appeared: 3/23/2003

The town of Bird-in-Hand (pop. 300), founded in 1734, was named after an old hotel’s swinging sign.

first appeared: 3/16/2003

A skull from the dinosaur Coelophysis (pronounced SEE-low-FIE-sis), borrowed from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Natural History, was taken into space on the shuttle Endeavor in 1998.

first appeared: 3/9/2003

The Conestoga wagon, a chief freight carrier from 1750 until the coming of the railroads, was named for the Lancaster County valley where German settlers developed it.

first appeared: 3/2/2003

The first U.S. patent for an accordion was issued to Anthony Faas of Philadelphia in 1854 after Faas made two improvements—one to the keyboard and another to enhance the sound.

first appeared: 2/23/2003

More than 30 years ago, Helen Barnes of Allentown helped found Meals on Wheels in Lehigh County. Today, at age 89, she still drives two routes a week.

first appeared: 2/16/2003

The Scott Paper Co. was founded in 1879 by brothers Irvin and Clarence Scott in Philadelphia. The company introduced paper towels in 1907, designed for use in classrooms to help prevent the spread of the common cold.

first appeared: 2/9/2003

The state Legislature voted to make Valley Forge—the place where Gen. George Washington’s troops wintered during 1777-1778—a state park in 1893. It became part of the national park system in 1977.

first appeared: 2/2/2003

Pittsburgh has more than 300 sets of city maintained steps. If they were stacked on top of each other, they would reach more than 26,000 feet high.

first appeared: 1/26/2003

The first product bottled by Henry J. Heinz—founder of the Heinz Co.—in the basement of his home was horseradish. In 1869, he opened his first factory in Sharpsburg (pop. 4,021).

first appeared: 1/19/2003

In the 2001-2002 season, 460 million pounds of button mushrooms were grown, worth $390 million—the state’s largest food crop.

first appeared: 1/12/2003

Pennsylvania lawyer Joshua Pusey invented book matches in 1889 after deciding that the wooden kitchen matches he used to light his cigars were too bulky to fit into the vest pocket of his best clothes.

first appeared: 1/5/2003

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