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Of course, this is a joyous day for Pittsburgh and, therefor, the world.

I was curious, so I went through them. The lines are a bit blurry, but I count it as 27 flags which are entirely or substantially the state seal, 6 more which incorporate it or significant elements of it, and 17 others which are entirely different or only incorporate minor elements in a different way.

Ever use a horse plow? You will feel half dead, but entirely badass afterwards.

I think the ship has more to do with trade, as one of the sources of the state's wealth. Philly was one of the nation's major ports and centers of commerce when this seal was created and that ship would be crazy-anachronistic to represent William Penn's.

EDIT: From Wikipedia:

> The Pennsylvania coat of arms features a shield crested by a North American bald eagle, flanked by horses, and adorned with symbols of Pennsylvania's strengths—a ship carrying state commerce to all parts of the world; a clay-red plough, a symbol of Pennsylvania's rich natural resources; and three golden sheaves of wheat, representing fertile fields and Pennsylvania's wealth of human thought and action. An olive branch and cornstalk cross limbs beneath—symbols of peace and prosperity. The state motto, "Virtue, Liberty and Independence", appears festooned below. Atop the coat of arms is a bald eagle, representing Pennsylvania's loyalty to the United States.[2][3]

My dad used to work downtown at a bank here. One night a bad storm knocked out power to a big chunk of the town and took out a big tree in the bank courtyard. We were down there in the pitch dark cutting this tree apart so that nobody tripped over it coming in the next day. It felt a bit dicey with people suddenly appearing on the sidewalk in the small circle of light from our lanterns.

Fun fact: The town was named for another industrial town: Essen, Germany. Monessen = Essen on the Monongahela.

Is that where they are now? I remember when they were in Monongahela.

Ah, yeah. 14yo would definitely prefer Kennywood. My 6 yo loves Idewilde, but it only has a couple larger coasters. Good waterpark, though.

Defunctland is a Youtube channel that does highly interesting documentaries on, among other things, amusement parks and attractions. A few months ago, he did one on Kennywood's biggest mistake. It was amusing how a guy whose career is talking about amusement parks and the relationships that locals have with them, was clearly a bit weirded out by how strongly Pittsburghers feel about Kennywood. Still, of the 10 oldest roller coasters in the country, 5 are in PA and 3 are at Kennywood. Whatever the park's current faults, I still find it really cool that my 5yo daughter can enjoy the same attractions that her great grandparents rode at her age.

(All in all, though, I prefer Idewild.)

EDIT: I totally forgot that the Old Mill that is the focus of the video dates all the way back to 1901, a generation older than the roller coasters. My daughter's great great grandparents may have ridden it as small children.

How old are your kids? If you're in the Pittsburgh area, Idewild is cheaper, less hectic, and has more stuff geared towards smaller children.

I love Idewild, particularly in the off season. We always go for the Highland Games and Hallaboo. It's the 3rd oldest amusement park in the country and it retains more charm, human scale, and.. not wildness, but less of a sense of every square inch being meticulously controlled for maximum profit, than many newer parks with bigger budgets on higher-priced property.

I love the bird hall. Never let it change. There's little interpretation, little explanation, but just a wonderful showcase of the old naturalist's joy at simply collecting things.

It's so weird. When I was a kid, they were on the verge of extinction. Now, my brother is worried about them attacking his lambs.

I went to a wedding held on the steps inside the rotunda a few years ago. Bagpipes sound absolutely amazing with the acoustics there.

Yup. From the rear deck at the visitor center of Laurel Caverns or at the foot of the Great Cross of Christ above Uniontown, you can just make out the Steel Tower and Mellon Building. Technically, Morgantown is a bit closer, but it's just not a hub in the same way.

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It's within Pittsburgh's orbit by default. The nearest city is Uniontown, which isn't exactly a cultural hub. Morgantown is regionally important, but unless you care very deeply about college football or strange forms of urban transit, there's not much that's distinctive about it.

Because that's the joke... Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water, illustrated in the style of 1990's Lisa Frank brand school supplies.

Same here. Brilliant, running a multi-billion dollar company from a bunch of low-rent offices in the middle of nowhere.

He poured most of his money into Bentleyville and Fayettenam, but honestly, I'm glad to've not seen too much development in the 84/Lone Pine area.

Fayettenam and Somerset don't have many, but they do have a few truly excellent places, thanks to the tourism from Laurel Mountains, skiing, Ohiopyle, and Nemacolin.

If you're ever driving 40, check out the Summit Inn, east of Uniontown.

If you're ever in Murrysville (east of Pittsburgh on 22), the Marathon station has some of the best gyros I've ever tasted.

You'll need your all-terrain skates for that.

Great! Lots of driving from Monroeville to Washington County and back. Relatives said they hit some ice on 819, but I never noticed anything but a bit of blown snow.

Our 5yo had a blast at both sets of grandparents and was great the whole time.

Merry Christmas!

More or less than the number who get twitchy over 'Doo Boys'.

Oddly, the French name that we do pronounce correctly "Duquesne", seems to be the one that I hear mangled most often in audiobooks and on podcasts.

Monroeville Mall might have the Zombie Museum, but WashPA is the ultimate zombie mall. It's been mostly dead for what? 20 years now?

Well, like birds, terrestrial lizards don’t urinate. I guess, though, that I can’t speak for mythical ones in the air (in the aiiiirrrrr). I know what I’m listening to now.