While Pittsburgh is known as the Steel City and innovations in that industry, it lays claim to great inventions in a variety of fields – some that may come as a surprise.
• Movie Theaters: The nation’s first movie theater opened along Smithfield Street in 1905, showing short films for a mere – you guessed it – nickel.
• Forbes Field: Built in 1909, the Pirates’ longtime Oakland home was once a modern marvel, with the first spectator ramps (yes, really) and elevator-accessed suites.
• Smiley Emoticons: The sideways smiley face used in digital communication was first used by a computer scientist from Carnegie Mellon University.
– Claire Fergus, WordWrite