Sunday, March 22, 2009

No Beer Today, No Beer Today, You Can't Buy Beer On Sunday

After I moved from Ohio, I was totally discouraged by the lack of readily available grocery store beer. That's because you won't find your Yuengling or Arn City at the Giant Iggle. The travel site 10best says it better than I can.

"Buying a 6-pack of beer in Pittsburgh can be quite an experience. Beer is sold by distributors in cases only. In order to purchase beer on Sunday or by the 6-pack, you'll have to head to one of the bars or restaurants that sell "beer-to-go." There is a catch, though! You can buy only one 6-pack at a time. However, you can buy a maximum of four 6-packs a day but in order to do so, you have to leave the store and return."

http://www.10best.com/Pittsburgh,PA/locationDetails.html?tab=facts
Even though most of the time the 'burgh seems like a world of its own, we're actually very connected. Pittsburgh is located within 500 miles of more than half of the US population.

Source: http://www.butlerwebs.com/pittsburgh/funfacts.htm
Lest you think I only see the sunny side of my city, I realize it has a (very) few shortcomings as well. In 2007, we took back the dubious distinction of second most polluted city in the country, next to LA.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh,_Pennsylvania#Livability

Here We Go Steagles Here We Go

Even though it's a beautiful spring day here in the 'burgh, my thoughts are already turning longingly once again to football. Here's another Stiller fact for your collection.

During WWII when there was a serious shortage of players, the Steelers played with the Philadelphia Eagles as one team, known as the Steagles. It lasted for one year, 1943. The next year, my beloved black and gold played with the Cardinals, forming Card-Pitt.

Source: http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/steelers/a/trivia.htm

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Yours truly aside, Pittsburgh has produced some truly remarkable people. The following is just a partial list of great 'burghers.

Kurt Angle
Nellie Bly
John Brashear
Selma Burke
Richard Caliguiri
Andrew Carnegie
Rachel Carson
Mary Cassatt
Willa Cather
Roberto Clemente
Frank Conrad
Rev. James R. Cox
Isaac Craig
Zadok Cramer
Martin R. Delany
Annie Dillard
George W. G. Ferris
Stephen Foster
Henry Clay Frick
Martha Graham
Franco Harris
H. J. Heinz
Senator H. J. Heinz III
Henry Hornbostel
Cy Hungerford
Edgar Kaufmann
Michael Keaton
Gene Kelly
Kathryn Kuhlman
Samuel P. Langley
David Lawrence
Danny Marino
Bill Mazeroski
Sophie Masloff
Andrew Mellon
Danny Murtaugh
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Fred Rogers
Arthur St. Clair
Jonas Salk
Bruno Sammartino
Thomas Starzl
Gertrude Stein
William Steinberg
George Swetnam
Jane Grey Swisshelm
Robert L. Vann
Honus Wagner
Andy Warhol
George Westinghouse
John Edgar Wideman
August Wilson
http://www.clpgh.org/research/pittsburgh/pittsburghers/

Taters

And now a fact from my absolute favorite Pittsburgh attraction...Kennywood! Specifically, the potato patch fry stand at Kennywood. According to WTAE, the Potato Patch uses 4,000 pounds of potatoes and twelve cases of cheese every day.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/slideshow/entertainment/869807/detail.html
Having grown up around the 'burgh, I wasn't aware that the rest of the country had long been deprived of chipped ham sammitches. When I went away to school and tried to buy chipped ham, the deli was thoroughly confused. Apparently, chipped ham is a Pittsburgh treat.

"Chipped Ham, a spicy lunch meat, made its debut in 1933 at Isaly's, a locally based family chain of dairy stores. Former Pittsburghers have been known to have it shipped across the country when they get a yearning for this hometown favorite."

Source: http://www.majestytransportation.com/pittsburghfacts.htm

Genac!

Anyone who has ever been to a Pitt football game has run a fair chance of being befuddled by the incomprehensible chant in the middle of Hail To Pitt. For the record, it's "Alleghenee, genac genac genac." Which leads to another, more pressing question. What on God's green Earth is a genac?

We can't be certain, but the very authoritative *cough* Yahoo Answers guru James C. tell us "The Indians native to this area supposedly referred to what is now known as the Allegheny river as the "Alleghenee" river. The repetition of the "genac" serves as assonance, imitating the sound of the flowing river."

Sunday, March 8, 2009

She works hard for her money...

Besides just giving spectacular views of the city, the Duquesne Incline is a hard worker. It is the "oldest mass transit vehicle in daily operation" in the United States.

Source: http://www.10best.com/Pittsburgh,PA/locationDetails.html?tab=facts

The famous bridge statistic

'burghers are proud of their bridges. If you're here for more than five minutes, someone will always bring out an impressive statistic about the number of bridges in the city limits. Although it may be cliche, it is worth noted that there are 720 bridges in the 'burgh (and they all look exactly the same when you're lost downtown.)

Source: http://www.pittsburgh.net/about_pittsburgh.cfm

Two all beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese...

Lest you think our only culinary contribution to the world is Primanti's...the Big Mac was invented right here in the 'burgh.

Source: http://www.butlerwebs.com/pittsburgh/funfacts.htm

Tinsel Town East?

Although it's definitely no Hollywood, Pittsburgh plays a sizable role in movie history as well. The following are just some of the movies that have been filmed in the 'burgh.

  • 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh'
  • 'Wonder Boys'
  • 'Desperate Measures'
  • 'Kingpin'
  • 'The Mothman Prophecies'
  • 'Striking Distance'
  • 'Inspector Gadget'
  • 'Milk Money'
  • 'Roommates'
  • 'Boys on the Side'
  • 'Houseguest'
  • 'The Deer Hunter'
  • 'Money For Nothing'
  • 'Only You'
  • 'Dominick + Eugene'
  • 'Sudden Death'
  • The Silence of the Lambs
  • Hoffa
Source: http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/news-room/press-kit/trivia/