Pittsburgh Trivia: Vol. II
Test your Steel City knowledge
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 acknowledgments page:
There are 1,000 questions, so we can do this 100 times. This is volume II. Click here to see last week’s trivia. 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 both break up the text and promote my stuff.
Round 1: Panthers & druggists
The University of Pittsburgh chose the panther as its mascot in 1909. What specific species of panther was chosen as the mascot?
North Side druggist E. J. W. Keagy never was a household name, but his creation showed up in thousands of households. What did Keagy create?
While you ponder those queries, know that Pittsburgh’s comprehensive plan for the next 25 years will be finalized in August, and the city is seeking community input. If you are interested in learning more, here is the finale of my 5-part explainer. (That’s me taking the picture featured in part 1)
Answers:
Felis Concolor. The school could have just as easily chosen Panthera Pardus or Panthera Pardalis.
In 1914, he came up with a lemon-flavored ice slush beverage and called it Lem-N-Blennd. A candy company, Reymer’s and Bros. Inc., bought the rights to Lem-N-Blennd in 1932 and the product became Reymer’s Lem-N-Blennd.
Round 2: Vietnam & the FOP
How many military service people from Allegheny County died while serving in the Vietnam War?
What is special about Pittsburgh’s Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge?
At the beginning of the week, we have a roundup of the top new affecting us locally and globally. From the article:
The Pittsburgh City Paper previews the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl. “Spanning nine days, from Sat., July 18 to Sun., July 26, the crawl unites 30 local, independent bookstores.” Advertised as a “sober-friendly daytime activity,” Corey Wittig, co-owner of Stay Gold Books says it is “a nice excuse to get out of your neighborhood and check out a new thing.”
Answers:
408 [Had it existed at the time of publishing, I’m sure Tobich would have directed everyone to visit the Vietnam veterans memorial located downtown].
The Pittsburgh Fraternal Order of Police was started in 1915 and is the oldest in the country.
Round 3: Fancy streets & big bucks
On what fashionable street were The Gazebo, Fox’s, The Encore, and the Hollywood Social Club located?
In 1989, Chevron bought Gulf Oil, paying cash for the purchase. How much did Chevron pay? How much profit did Gulf shareholders make in the transaction?
Every week, we list gas prices and examine why they are rising or lowering. Since publishing on Tuesday, gas has risen nationally by nine cents and Pittsburgh has risen by four.
Answers:
Walnut Street in Shadyside
Chevron paid $13.2 billion or $80 a share for Gulf. At the start of the takeover, Gulf’s stock was selling for about $41 a share. The shareholders made a profit of $6.5 billion.
Round 4: Winning a Pulitzer & scoring a touchdown
Which Pittsburgh-born author was awarded the 1975 Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction for her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek?
Who is the only NFL player to score six different ways in his career?
Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol survived a murder attempt in 1968 — it’s been largely forgotten to history due to Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s death days later. The woman who made 2000’s American Psycho had her directing debut in 1996 with Who Shot Andy Warhol and it was re-released for its 30th anniversary.
Answers:
Steeler Bill Dudley. He scored by rushing, returning a kickoff, returning a punt, recovering a fumble, intercepting a pass, and receiving a pass. He wasn’t called “Bullet Bill” for nothing.
Round 5: Employers & emails
Who are the area’s biggest employers of full-time employees? [Recent numbers included along with 20-year-old book answer]
They are used in email all over the world now, but Carnegie Mellon University researcher, Scott Fahlman, typed the first one on September 18, 1982. What are they?
Even if you don’t like pickles, it’s nice to be outside with your friends. This thing sells itself; I don’t have to tell you how cool it is. If you’d like to learn more about the pickle festival back for its 11th year, click the link.
Answers:
Book numbers from 2007: UPMC Health System (26,700 employees); U.S. Government (19,400); Commonwealth of PA (13,300); West Penn Allegheny Health System (10,700); University of Pittsburgh (10,100)
2025 numbers via the city of Pittsburgh: UPMC Health System (63,000 employees); Highmark Health (26,000); U.S. government (20,000); FedEx Corp. (17,000); Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (15,163); University of Pittsburgh (14,491)
Emoticons. The first one he posted was “smiley” or :-)
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