The folks at the Daily Beast posted a list of America’s Craziest Cities, and of course I just had to know where Pittsburgh fell on that list. It was a bit disconcerting to see that the ‘burgh came in 18th place – one consolation was that it came ahead of Seattle, if only by a hair.
Now, I understand that it’s neat to see the bizarre laws we have all over this country (and I’ll get into the ones in the ‘burgh in a moment), but I still think that the fact we have our own language sets our city apart from the rest on the sanity scale. Pittsburghese – the slang that is found throughout the Pittsburgh Metro area, and is actually documented in a book – is definitely something that can be considered at least a little crazy. The history behind many of the terms that I try very hard not to use is at the very least, creative.
To be fair, at least the folks at the Daily Beast gave a pictorial nod to our obsession with all things black and gold, particularly where the Steelers are concerned. It’s not a celebration in the ‘burgh without a Steeler Santa – except for on St. Patrick’s Day, when we have Santa wearing the green!
As for picking the law against sleeping on refrigerators, I guess that’s alright, but our law against bringing a donkey or a mule on a trolley car is much more bizarre. It brings new meaning to Trolley from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, that’s for sure! Personally, I also would have preferred someone poking fun at the Commonwealth laws on the sale of alcohol. Maybe one day our legislators will figure out it’s time to move into the 20th century where that’s concerned – hopefully before the 22nd century, that is!
All I can say is “Yoi!” Am I glad that we can officially say the City of Brotherly Love is crazier than the ‘burgh! They beat us by 12 places, coming in 6th! Take that, Governor Rendell!!
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