Pittsburgh Trivia: Vol. I
What do you know about the Steel City?
By Christopher Flowers
During a visit to one of the city’s many wonderful bookstores, I came across a copy of Ultimate Pittsburgh Trivia by Dane Topich, published in 2007. Here’s a photo of the author beside the oldest tree in Allegheny County:
As one has likely surmised, we have a new weekly feature. There are 1,000 questions, so we can do this 100 times. There’s no deep system — I open a random page and pick a question, then another page. There are two questions in each round, and articles I’ve written previously are in the body to 1) break up the text and 2) promote my stuff.
Round 1: Football & museums
In what Pittsburgh neighborhood was former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino born and from what high school did he graduate?
The Carnegie Museums (formerly the Carnegie Institute) had a once and only pressure wash cleaning in the 1990s. But a rectangular blotch of black on two walls remains to the rear of the music hall looking out on the Schenley Plaza. Why wasn’t the building given a complete bath?
While you ponder those questions, here’s a look at the professional wrestling career of Pittsburgh native (and Olympic gold medalist) Kurt Angle.
Answers:
Marino was born in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh and is a gradate of Oakland’s Central Catholic. He was a standout player at the University of Pittsburgh, also located in Oakland.
The remaining spot is a way to pay homage to the Institute’s founder, Andrew Carnegie, and the city’s industrial past when buildings routinely turned black from the soot clogging the air.
Round 2: Landscapes & ballparks
Which is bigger: Frick Park or Schenley Park? (Hint: It’s pretty close.)
On what date was the last game played at Forbes Field?
While you eyeball those questions, know that anybody with working eyes saw what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, and it is disgusting to watch the official narrative being changed. I refuse to be silenced.
COMMENTARY: January 6 revisionists are traitors to their country
The Point welcomes all views and opinions, so long as they are grounded in fact and civil in nature. Comments that drive debate are appreciated and encouraged. Interested in having an op-ed or book review published? Submissions are welcome, and there are paid opportunities for original reporting. Inquire for more information.
Answers:
It is Frick, with 456.8 acres. Schenley has 456 acres. Highland Park has 425 acres for a not-too-distant third.
June 28, 1970
Round 3: Bankruptcies & bacteria
How many Western Pennsylvania individuals and business organizations filed for bankruptcy in 2004?
When was Pittsburgh the typhoid capital of the world?
Who was the first president in a plane? Who was the only medical doctor? Which presidential daughter had a pony on the White House grounds named Macaroni?
Answers:
20,523. In 1999, the figure was 11,730
Between 1873 and 1907, during a worldwide epidemic, Pittsburgh had well over 100 deaths per 100,000 residents. The average for other northern cities was only 35 deaths per 100,000 people. Typhoid is spread through food and water contaminated with feces or urine. At the time of the epidemic, local residents drew water from the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers and dumped untreated sewage into the rivers as well. Communities upriver from Pittsburgh did the same.
Round 4: Higher education & national government
Carlow University is named after a town in what country?
Which Pittsburgher served as U.S. secretary of the treasury under three different presidents?
We discuss a lot of higher education and national government in the Weekly Roundup articles. Each week, I look at what’s happening in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania, the nation, and the world.
Answers:
Ireland. Carlow was founded by the Sisters of Mercey, an Irish order. The Sisters of Mercy came to Pittsburgh in 1843. In 1894 the sisters bought 13 acres of land on which Carlow now sits. Finally, on September 24, 1929k Carlow (originally named Mount Mercy) opened, weeks before the Great Depression. Sisters Irenaeus Dougherty and Regis Grace were the school’s founders. Mount Mercy became Carlow in 1969.
Andrew W. Mellon. He served under presidents Harding, Coolidge and Hoover.
(Learning about the presidency can still be fun!)
Round 5: Sport balls and ketchup
Identify the sports of these long-gone Pittsburgh professional teams: (1) Gladiators, (2) Maulers, (3) Spirit, (4) Pipers, (5) Triangles
What are the last four digits of Heinz USA’s phone number?
The president, a 34-time felon, has been keeping federal disaster money from states that don’t follow the MAGA agenda. Like everything this man does, it’s disgusting and shameful.
Answers:
(1) Indoor football, (2) U.S. Football League, (3) Indoor soccer, (4) professional basketball, (5) indoor tennis
5757, what else?
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