There's been too much about the Isle of Wight in the Post lately. Time for Pittsburgh to catch up. Want to make your town famous? Send Stuff!

All these are weird facts about Pittsburgh and environs. Multiple guess, as my Pittsburgh teachers used to say.

1. Don Decker was a teenager serving time for receiving stolen property in 1983. What unusual phenomenon was documented at this time?
   
   • He was abducted from jail by a UFO.
   • A disembodied voice declared his innocence.
   • He levitated.
   • Rain spontaneously fell on him from ceilings.
2. Millions of people spotted the 1965 'meteor' streaking across the sky, but it landed near Pittsburgh, causing a sonic boom. What made the acorn-shaped object look less like a meteor?
   
   • A sign that said, 'Eat at Joe's'.
   • Hieroglyphics on the outside.
   • The Day-Glo paint.
   • Live fish inside.
3. Catawissa, Pennsylvania has about two dozen unusual graves in its cemetery. What's odd about them?
   
   • They feature LED marquees.
   • They are believed to be Neolithic.
   • The graves are in wrought-iron fenced 'cages'.
   • They are tented by large stone slabs.
4. According to researcher Michelle Dresbold, what is Pittsburgh's connection to a famous British mystery?
   
   • The carpets from Titanic were manufactured in Pittsburgh.
   • A Pittsburgh firm sold George Joseph Smith a bathtub.
   • A Great Train Robbery suspect once lived there.
   • Jack the Ripper once lived there.
5. Why has the B-52 that crashed into the Monongahela River in 1956 never been found?
   
   • It completely sank into the muddy river bottom, never to resurface.
   • It was stolen by aliens.
   • It was recycled for parts by Pittsburgh airplane enthusiasts before the search team got there.
   • The 'crash' was a hoax.
6. The city of Pittsburgh has four Toynbee Tiles. What is a Toynbee Tile?
   
   • A historic tile made by the Revolutionary War hero, Arbuthnot Toynbee.
   • One of a mysterious set of tiles inlaid in city streets across North and South America by an unidentified person.
   • A glazed tile made of an irreproducible shade of the colour blue.
   • A tile that was part of a government-sponsored scavenger hunt in 1943 to 'cheer up' citizens during the war.
7. Native American legend has it that evil spirits inhabit the waters of the Ohio River. What weird phenomenon has been known to exist in or around the Ohio near McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania since the 18th Century?
   
   • A Lorelei-like banshee that sings.
   • Phantom animal sightings.
   • A hole with no bottom in the river.
   • Phosphorescent fish.
8. What odd gifts are often left in a Pittsburgh cemetery?
   
   • Chicken livers at the Romero Family crypt.
   • Campbell's soup cans at Andy Warhol's grave.
   • Broken banjo strings at Stephen Foster's grave.
   • Confederate money at Nick Adams' grave.
9. There is a weird pyramid in Rosemont United Cemetery in Ross Township, near Pittsburgh. (No, it wasn't Mad Jack Fuller.) What famous religious leader is buried there?
   
   • Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism.
   • Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science.
   • Aimee Semple McPherson, the radio evangelist.
   • Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
10. What two famous travellers set out from Pittsburgh one day?
    
    • Hope and Crosby.
    • Lewis and Clark.
    • Stanley and Livingstone.
    • Mike Fink and Davy Crockett.

Baffled? Not for long! Just click the picture for answers.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

03.07.17 Front Page

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