10 Bizarre Pittsburgh Traditions That Make Our City The Absolute Best
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Beth Price-Williams
Author
Pittsburgh’s the best, right? Plenty makes the Burgh such an amazing place to live. Pittsburghers’ friendliness. A jaw dropping city skyline. Winning sports teams. And, of course, the traditions that we hold dear to our hearts. Some may call them bizarre. But, for us, these 10 Pittsburgh traditions are just part of what make Pittsburgh so special.
Wedding cake? Sure, we might have one at our wedding in the Burgh. But, the highlight of the reception is, of course, the traditional cookie table. Might seem a bit odd to others, wouldn't you say? The cookie table tradition is said to date back to the Great Depression. When couples couldn't afford a cake to celebrate, they often served cookies instead.
The Pittsburgh toilet, for us Pittsburghers, at least, is a normal tradition. For others, it may seem a bit bizarre. But, the Pittsburgh toilet dates back to the hey day of the steel mills and coal mines. Workers used the toilet in the basement before heading upstairs to the family.
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How many other sports fans wave towels to cheer on their team? The Terrible Towel is a treasured Pittsburgh tradition. Another Terrible Towel tradition? People taking their Terrible Towels with them when they travel.
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Just about everyone everywhere in the United States - maybe the world - counts down to the ball (or something else) drop. Pittsburgh? Not us, thank you. We've taken a bit of a different approach to the New Year's Eve countdown. At the stroke of midnight on January 1, we cheer as the ball goes up. Why? Well, it signals prosperity and moving upward in the coming year.
You want fries with that? Nope, that's not how it goes in the Burgh. It's more like, "do you want fries on that?" Thanks to Primanti Brothers, we see fries as a topping. We add it to our sandwiches, our salads, and what do you top with fries?
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Our fries may serve as a topping sometimes. However, we also like to top them with Heinz (of course!) ketchup and mustard. And, sometimes a helping of fries just tastes better smothered in gravy.
It's a phase that we've all gone through and some of us have never grown out of. We wear matching outfits with our pals when we go to Kennywood. The tradition started in school when we would go with our Kennywood buddies to buy the perfect outfit for our school picnic at the park.
See that chair? Yeah, the one sitting in the parking space cleared of snow? That chair and parking space belong to us. Saving our shoveled-out parking spaces with chairs is just what we do.
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Some of us get annoyed by the really weird Pittsburgh tradition, habit, whatever you want to call it. Others just go with the flow, accepting that it's just part of what makes the Burgh so awesome. We slow down - sometimes to a complete stop - as we approach the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. Why? No one really knows for sure.
Pittsburgh's a pierogi town. We love 'em, especially homemade and sold at church fairs and at Lenten fish fries. But, here's the teeny tiny part that might make our pierogi tradition a bit bizarre. We cheer life-sized pierogies on as they run around PNC Park in between innings of Pirate games.
Your turn! What are some of your favorite bizarre or totally treasured Pittsburgh traditions? Share in the comments! Then, click here to read about 10 things we, Pittsburghers, probably take for granted every now and then.
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