1. The much beloved Fred Rogers of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” called Pittsburgh home.
2. Pittsburgh has an Inspector of Steps. Someone has to maintain all 700 of the stairs making this hilly city navigable.
3. :-) :-):-) Emoticons invention. Happened way back in 1982 on a Carnegie Melon University computer.
4. Nickelodeon might be a certain generation’s favorite childhood TV station, but it was originally the name of the first moving picture theater that opened in Pittsburgh in 1905.
5. The Myron Cope Terrible Towel, an absolute must-have for all real Steelers fans, was created in 1975 because department stores kept selling out of yellow and black hand towels faster than the others. This made for unhappy customers wanting fully matching yellow bath mats, towels, and wash clothes.
6. Check your eyesight because the three “stars” on the Steelers logo aren’t actually stars. They’re hypocycloids—go look that up—and the colors represent the materials for making steel. Jocks and nerds. An unlikely, but apparently winning combination.
7. One part lemonade and one part sweet-tea does an Arnold Palmer make. But Pittsburgh made the actual Arnold Palmer first. Golf superstar for the win.
8. The most common nickname, “Steel City,” is from the era when Pittsburgh was one of the top producers of steel. Some of the Pittsburgh-made steel went to projects like the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge.
9. There’s something a little sinister about all that steel and brick, which is probably why movies like “The Silence of the Lambs” and “The Dark Knight Rises” were filmed here.
10. And “Night of the Living Dead” and “Dawn of the Dead”...
11. Michael Keaton, Demi Moore, Andy Warhol and Christina Aguilera walk into a bar. Wait, no. It’s supposed to say what do they all have in common. All famous Pittsburgh natives.
12. Thanks goes to Dr. Jonas Salk and the University of Pittsburgh for the creation of the first polio vaccine.
13. N-13. Bingo! Hugh J. Ward came up with the game in the early 1920s and it’s been played religiously at carnivals and fire halls ever since.
14. No carnival would be complete without a ride on the Ferris Wheel, invented by Pittsburgh local George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. in 1892.
15. Pittsburghese: The language only real Pittsburghers speak and only they can understand, including “warsh” and “yinz.”
16. Pittsburghers use something called a “parking chair” to save their parking space in the street, especially, but not limited to, use in the winter months with heavy snow.
17. Winter got a little better in 1940 with the first Ice Capades, one performance of the premier season was held in Pittsburgh’s Duquesne Gardens arena.
18. Everyone knows Primanti Bros. Sandwich is a Pittsburgh restaurant staple. Not everyone knows that their famous French fry and coleslaw topped sandwiches were invented during the Depression so that laborers could hold their entire meal with one hand and work with the other.
19. Another famous sandwich was invented in Pittsburgh: The Big Mac. Pittsburghers are so proud of Jim Delligatti’s delectable invention, they even made a museum for this Golden-Arches classic.
20. Some other American favorites such as the Clark bar, Klondike Bar, and Heinz Ketchup all originated in Pittsburgh.
21. The Point State Park fountain is actually spewing out 6,000 gallons per minute of water from a glacial formation.
22. Pittsburgh’s other nickname is “The City of Bridges.” Pittsburgh doesn’t just have a lot of bridges. It has the most. With around 446 current structures it beats out even Venice, Italy. Ciao, baby.
23. Another Pittsburgh versus the world win is for having the first museum of modern art way back in 1895.
24. The Robot Hall of Fame is located in Pittsburgh and in 2012 WALL-E became an inductee. EVE must have been so proud.
25. Pittsburgh hosts the annual Anthrocon convention. Um . . . ? The convention for people who love anthropomorphism so much they get together and dress up like animals, duh.
26. St. Anthony’s Chapel: some say impressive 5,000 piece collection of Catholic relics rivaled only by the Vatican, others say borderline hoarding.
27. Whereas St. Anthony’s is arguably the most religious place in Pittsburgh, this business might be the exact opposite. Church Brew is what the name implies. It’s a brewery in a church. And Pittsburghers love it.
28. Pittsburgh-based American Bantam Car Company developed the first Jeep.
29. In 1913, the first ever gas station opened on the corner of Baum Blvd and St. Clair St. They would’ve died if they could see the prices for gas today.
30. Back in 1909, Pittsburgh joined the big leagues when it built the first baseball stadium, Forbes Field.
31. Game 4 of the 1971 World Series, played in Pittsburgh, was the first ever scheduled nighttime game.
32. Pittsburgh had the first community sponsored educational TV station in America called WQED.
33. The legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino claims Pittsburgh as his hometown, too. Based on Super Bowl wins, though, it looks like he needed the Steelers more than they needed him. Go Steelers!
34. Joe Gilliam, a Steeler, was the first ever African-American NFL starting quarterback.
35. But before Pittsburghers made steel they made glass. This is like way back in the early 1800s, so it’s no wonder we’ve all but forgotten that by now.
36. Alcoa, a Pittsburgh-based company, created the handy pull-tab on cans in 1962 and we’ve been twisting, flicking, and littering them ever since.
37. Heinz Field is comprised of mostly steel as a tip o’ the hat to the Pittsburgh steel industry success.
38. It’s no wonder every Pittsburgher feels it’s their job to excessively cheer for the Steelers. They’re one out of only six other NFL teams without a cheerleading squad. Art Rooney felt they were too “distracting.”
39. 2011 was the first year that the Super Bowl ever had two teams on the field without cheerleaders, the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
What's your favorite Pittsburgh fun fact? Tell us in the comments below!
