Pittsburgh Was the First City to Do Alot of Awesome Things!

Pittsburgh is famous for its sports teams and fans, world-class businesses, schools, and museums, but did you know it is also home to several unique, interesting, and even delicious inventions. Here are a few you may not have known:

First Ferris Wheel – 1892

The world's first Ferris wheel.

The original Ferris Wheel opened to the public on June 21, 1893 at the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago, IL. It was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr, a graduate of the Renselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Pittsburgh bridge-builder. Intended to rival the Eiffel Tower, the Ferris wheel was the largest attraction at the exposition with a height of 264 feet and the ability to carry more than 2,000 passengers at a time.

Banana Split – 1904

Dr. William Strickler, the inventor of the banana split, got the idea from watching soda jerks while vacationing in Atlantic City. His goal was to improve sales at the pharmacy where he apprenticed, and it didn’t take long for his ice cream treat to catch on with local college students. Once St. Vincent College’s coeds starting spreading the word about Strickler’s delicious dessert, sales took off and the banana split was here to stay. 
 
When it first began selling, the banana split cost 10 cents, which was twice the amount of a regular sundae. Some people who remember when the banana split was first introduced recall that when two young people were on a date, the man would buy his “best girl” a banana split while “other girls”just got an ice cream cone.

First Baseball Stadium – 1909

In 1909 the first baseball stadium, Forbes Field, was built in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It was soon followed by similar stadiums in Chicago, Cleveland, Boston and New York.

Forbes Field was used from 1909 until 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The stadium also served as the home football field for the Pitt Panthers from 1909 to 1924 and was named after British general John Forbes, who fought in the French and Indian war and is credited with naming the city of Pittsburgh in 1758.

Clark Bar – 1917

In the early 20^th century the North Side based D. L. Clark Company was already well on its way to producing a lot of distinctive candy that Pittsburghers loved. And like many other U. S. companies of the time, the D. L. Clark Company wanted to do their part for the war effort. The Clark Bar was created with U. S. soldiers in mind. The five cent bar was individually wrapped to make shipping overseas easier and more convenient for soldiers. Even though the candy bar was created in Pittsburgh, it didn’t enjoy local popularity until after the war, when the grateful soldiers spread the word about the Clark Bar at home.

Bingo – early 1920s

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. At that time, the dealer would select numbered discs from a cigar box and players would mark their cards with beans. Bingo was first referred to as “Beano” with players yelling “Beano!” instead of “Bingo!” when they won.

Big Mac - 1967
Frank Berardi is the man who claimed to have served the first Big Mac as a teenager, but the invention is credited to Jim Delligatti, a franchise owner in the Pittsburgh area. The Big Mac was test marketed in three other Pittsburgh-area McDonald's restaurants in 1967 and by 1968 it was a mainstay on McDonald's menus throughout the country. What made this sandwich so unique was not only the extra meat, but the additional bun in the middle, which was in place to stabilize the toppings and prevent them from spilling.

Mr. Yuck Sticker - 1971

Mr. Yuk was created at the Poion Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after research indicated that the skull and crossbones which had previously been used to identify poisons had little meaning to children because the Jolly Roger was the mascot for the Pittsburgh Pirates. A memorably scary television commercial was also produced in the 1970s featuring the Mr. Yuk theme song (Mr. Yuk is mean! Mr. Yuk is green!) The song went on to become a popular culture icon for a number of generations.

First Internet Emoticon – 1982

Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Scott Fahlman introduced the first sideways smiley in an online message board to distinguish serious pots from jokes. 

Since then, he has become known as the “father of the smiley.”



Do you know of any “Pittsburgh firsts” not included on this list? Friend me on Facebook or find me on Twitter.