Pennsylvania Trivia & Tidbits - Page 2

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

—The nation’s first Ronald McDonald House was launched on Oct. 15, 1974, in Philadelphia. Last year, a second Ronald McDonald House opened in Philadelphia to provide a “home away from home” for families at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and Shriners Hospital.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

—Nurseryman William K. Harris of Philadelphia introduced America’s first Easter lilies after a tourist in Bermuda brought bulbs back in the 1880s. Harris began growing the flowers by forcing them into spring bloom, and selling them to other florists.

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—The Drake Well, which dates back to 1859, is located in Titusville, also home of the Drake Well Museum. In a previous issue, we misidentified the location of the well. Thanks to our readers for informing us of the error.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—Author, illustrator and businesswoman Rose Cecil O’Neil, born in 1874 in Wilkes-Barre (pop. 43,123), introduced the famous “Kewpie” character in an illustration in the Ladies Home Journal in 1909. A few years later, an actual doll was patented, and sales of the dolls and doll-related items netted O’Neil more than $1.5 million.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

—A dam built in 1909 by the Bayless Pulp & Paper Co., near Austin (pop. 623), broke in 1911, flooding Austin and nearby towns and killing at least 78 people. The disaster led to legislation regulating dam construction in the state.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—Born in Philadelphia in 1939, William “Bill” Toomey competed in the decathlon in his mid-20s after winning five National Amateur Athletic Union pentathlon titles. After two years as a decathlete, he set a world record in 1966 and subsequently won every decathlon title, including the 1968 Olympic decathlon.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—Although the Drake Well in Titusville (pop. 6,146) is the oldest drilled well, dating to 1859, the “McClintock No. 1,” near Rouseville (pop. 472), was drilled in 1861 and is the oldest continuously operating oil well in the world. Today, oil from the McClintock is sent to the Drake Well Museum, where bottles of oil are sold as souvenirs.

first appeared: 10/5/2008

—Helen Richey, born in 1909 in McKeesport (pop. 24,040), is credited with breaking the gender barrier in the field of aviation. She was the first American woman to be hired as a pilot by a commercial airline.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

—In 1890, the Pittsburgh baseball team, then known as the Allegheny, signed a Philadelphia Athletics second baseman, Louie Bierbauer. The Philadelphia management declared this “an act of piracy.” The nickname—Pirates—has stayed with the ball club ever since.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

—During the 19th century, Philadelphia was considered the ice cream capital of the United States because of the quantity of ice cream produced and for its popular vanilla-and-egg flavor, dubbed “Philadelphia.”

first appeared: 8/24/2008

—In 1941, a penalty flag invented by Dwight “Dike” Beede, a graduate of the former Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, replaced the penalty horn in a football game played at Youngstown State University against Oklahoma City University. The bi-colored cloth flag was replaced with a yellow flag in 1974.

first appeared: 8/10/2008

—In 1906, Italian immigrant Amedeo Obici went into partnership with Mario Peruzzi to found Planters peanuts in Wilkes-Barre (pop. 43,123). Obici used his own method of blanching whole roasted peanuts to remove the hulls and skins.

first appeared: 7/27/2008

—Gen. George C. Marshall, born in 1880 in Uniontown (pop. 12,422), rose through Army ranks to become chief of staff from 1939 to 1945. He authored the Marshall Plan of 1948 to help western European countries recover from World War II and, for his efforts, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.

first appeared: 7/13/2008

—On Aug. 16, 1858, the world’s first transatlantic cable message was sent by Queen Victoria of England to President James Buchanan at the Bedford Springs Hotel in Bedford (pop. 5,417). However, while this attempt to establish an Atlantic cable was successful, it stopped working not long afterward.

first appeared: 6/29/2008

—The USS United States, a 1,576-ton sailing frigate built in Philadelphia, was one of the first warships of the new U.S. Navy. Commissioned in 1797, the ship was active during the 1798-1800 Quasi-War with France, and the War of 1812 against the British.

first appeared: 6/15/2008

—The first televised basketball game, featuring teams from the University of Pittsburgh and Fordham University, was broadcast in New York City on Feb. 28, 1940. Pittsburgh won 50-37 in a game that was captured by only one camera.

first appeared: 6/1/2008

—Construction on the nation’s first cast-iron bridge, the Dunlap’s Creek Bridge in Brownsville (pop. 769), began in 1836 and the structure was officially opened in 1839. Located along Market Street, the bridge remains in use.

first appeared: 5/18/2008

—The whitetail deer is Pennsylvania’s official animal, a designation approved by the state Legislature in 1959. The animal provided food, clothing and shelter to both Indians and early settlers to the state, and remains abundant today.

first appeared: 5/4/2008

—In 1898, Robert Allison of Port Carbon (pop. 2,019) bought the first Winton automobile sold by the Winton Motor Carriage Co. The company bought the vehicle back and donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1929.

first appeared: 3/9/2008

—Cowboy actor and silent film star Tom Mix (1880-1940) was born in Mix Run. The actor appeared in more than 300 films, but his career began to wane with the advent of “talkies.”

first appeared: 2/24/2008

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