Pittsburgh Firsts
Pittsburgh was the first city in the world
to do a lot of neat things! Here are a few of the best known.
First Heart,
Liver, Kidney Transplant - December 3, 1989: The first simultaneous heart, liver, and
kidney transplant was done at Presbyterian University Hospital.
The 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 Uniontown 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.
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. (It is currently under consideration for
demolition.)
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
All-Aluminum 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. The name Zippo was chosen by Blaisdell because he liked the sound of
the word "zipper" - which was patented around the same time in nearby
Meadville, PA.
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
nation-wide in 1924. He secured a copyright on the game & wrote a book of
Bingo rules in 1933.
First U.S.
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, 8KX became KDKA
Radio and began broadcasting at 100 watts from a makeshift shack atop one of
the Westinghouse manufacturing buildings in East Pittsburgh.
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, which opened in the Spring
of 2001.
First Motion
Picture Theater - 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 Stickler'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.
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Updated
March 3, 2002