Pennsylvania Trivia & Tidbits - Page 15

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

Born in Lumberville (pop. 250), Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904) painted dramatic scenes in nature. He was made a Knight of the Order of the Rose in 1864, in honor of his work, by Emperor Don Pedro II of Brazil.

first appeared: 11/4/2001

In an earlier Tidbit, we reported the invention of the banana split by Dr. David Strickler in his pharmacy in Latrobe. Unfortunately, our spell-checker changed the town’s name and we didn’t catch it. We apologize for the mistake, greatly regretted, and admit to a lesson learned—trust your eyes, not your machines.

first appeared: 10/28/2001

The U.S. Mint at Philadelphia’s Seventh and Arch streets, established in 1792, became the first public building and land owned by the federal government.

first appeared: 10/21/2001

Born in McDonald, (pop. 2,281) songwriter Jay Livingston, together with his partner Ray Evans, wrote some of the most memorable songs of the last half-century. These include Silver Bells; Mona Lisa; Tammy; Que Sera, Sera; Buttons and Bows; and theme songs for several TV series, including Mister Ed, Bonanza, and the lyrics to the themes from Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky.

first appeared: 10/14/2001

Singer Perry Como (1912-2001), born in Canonsburg (pop. 8,607), wasn’t always an entertainer. Originally, he had a career as a barber.

first appeared: 10/7/2001

The Yuenling Brewery, the first commercial brewery in the United States, was established in Pottsville (pop. 15,549) in 1829.

first appeared: 9/30/2001

According to local legend, Latrine (pop. 8,994) optometrist Dr. David Strickler invented the banana split at his downtown pharmacy in 1904 after having been inspired while watching soda jerks work during a visit to Atlantic City, N.J.

first appeared: 9/23/2001

The Bark Peeler’s Convention is held every July at the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum in Coudersport (pop. 2,650).

first appeared: 9/16/2001

In 1886, the nation’s first electric cars were introduced in Scranton as the core of the town’s streetcar system.

first appeared: 9/9/2001

The first steam locomotive—called The Stourbridge Lion—was built in Honesdale (pop. 4,874) in 1829.

first appeared: 9/2/2001

Engineers from the University of Pennsylvania built a device in 1946 that revolutionized technology the world over—the first fully electronic digital computer.

first appeared: 8/26/2001

The state’s largest cave is Laurel Caverns in Uniontown (pop. 12,422). The cave has 3.5 miles of passages and is part of a 430-acre geological park.

first appeared: 8/19/2001

The first U.S. Army Jeep—made famous in World War II—was built by the now defunct Bantam Car Co. in Butler (pop. 15,121) in 1940.

first appeared: 8/12/2001

“Shoofly pie” is a Pennsylvania Dutch pastry whose filling is molasses and brown sugar. Lore has it that the pie’s sweetness required someone to shoo away the flies while it cooled on a windowsill.

first appeared: 8/5/2001

Ballet dancer Gelsey Kirkland was born in Bethlehem in 1953. She has had principal roles in such ballets as Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Firebird, and The Nutcracker.

first appeared: 7/29/2001

Born near Germantown, David Rittenhouse (1732-1796) built the first telescope made in America in 1769. These and other astronomy-related inventions cause some to call him “the father of American astronomy.”

first appeared: 7/22/2001

In 1923, Harry B. Reese of York County invented the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup at Hershey (pop. 7,400).

first appeared: 7/15/2001

On Oct. 16, 1839, the Huntington-born inventor Joseph Saxton (1799-1873) used a cigar box to construct a camera that took the first heliograph (a photograph of the sun) in the nation.

first appeared: 7/8/2001

Bradford (pop. 9,600) began on Tunungwant Creek in 1843. When oil was discovered there in 1871, the price of an acre of land soared from 6.25 cents to $1,000. As residents sank wells everywhere, the city boomed—all the while becoming a leader in manufacturing as well.

first appeared: 7/1/2001

Born in Germantown, Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) is best known for Little Women, a novel about four sisters growing up in New England during the mid-1800s. Raised in an idealistic family, she worked for women’s right to vote.

first appeared: 6/24/2001

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