Pittsburgh Firsts

The following information is a collection of facts collected by Ms. Kimberly Powell and appears here with her permission. This information is licensed to About.com. For more great information on Pittsburgh, check out Kim's site at About Pittsburgh, PA. I like folks to learn more about Pittsburgh. It is home to a lot of major developments and initial events that have affected our country and the world. Most people don't know these facts. It is just another example of why I appreciate and love the city that I call home! I hope you enjoy reading this list as much as much as I enjoyed adding it!

The first simultaneous heart, liver and kidney transplant, at Presbyterian-University Hospital, December 3, 1989.
   The first Internet Emoticon - "The Smiley -)", was created by Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Scott Fahlman, 1980.
   The first Robotics Institute was established to conduct basic and applied research in robotics technologies relevant to industrial and societal tasks, at Carnegie Mellon University in 1979 .
   The first Mr. Yuk Sticker (see my Failures Page), was created at 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), 1971.
The Pittsburgh Poison Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is the largest such center in the United States.
   The first Night World Series Game, Game 4 of the 1971 World Series was the first night game in Series history. The Pirates 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 (see Old Timer Page, Clemente pin). 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.
   The 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.
   The first Pull-Tab on Cans - 1962 The pull-tab was developed by Alcoa and was first used by Iron City Brewery. For many years, pull-tabs were only used in this area.
   The first Retractable Dome - September 1961, Pittsburgh's Civic Arena boasts the world's first auditorium with a retractable roof.
   The first U.S. Public Television Station - WQED, April 1, 1954, operated by the Metropolitan Pittsburgh Educational Station, was the first community-sponsored educational television station in America and first to telecast classes to elementary schools (1955).
   The first Polio Vaccine , March 26, 1953, was developed by Dr. Jonas E. Salk, a 38-year-old University of Pittsburgh researcher.
   The first All-Aluminum Building - ALCOA, August 1953, an aluminum-faced skyscraper , it was the Alcoa Building, a 30-story, 410 foot structure with aluminum panels forming the exterior walls.
   The first Zippo Lighter - 1932 George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo lighter in 1932 in Bradford, Pennsylvania. The name Zippo was chosen by Blaisdell because he liked the sound of the word "zipper", patented close to the same time in Meadville, PA.
   The first Bingo Game, early 1920's Hugh J. Ward 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 & wrote a book of Bingo rules in 1933.
   The 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, the first automobile service station, built by Gulf Refining Company, opened in Pittsburgh at Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street in East Liberty.
   The first Baseball Stadium in the U.S., 1909, was Forbes Field, built in Pittsburgh, followed soon by similar stadiums in Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and New York.
   The first Motion Picture Theater , 1905. The first in the world, devoted to the exhibition of motion pictures. It was the "Nickelodeon," on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh.
   The first Banana Split ,1904, was invented by Dr. David Strickler, a pharmacist, at Strickler's Drug Store in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
   The first World Series, in 1903. The Boston Pilgrims defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in baseball's first modern World Series. The Pirates lost the final game 4-3, before a crowd of 7,455 in Boston. Four of the games were played in Pittsburgh.
   The first Ferris Wheel - 1892/1893 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.
   The first Air Brake , 1869, 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.