(gentle upbeat music) - [Host] These bakery ovens were the first in America to produce a certain product.

The product was created as a reward to children for remembering to say their prayers.

Do you know what that product was?

You're invited to play The Pennsylvania Game.

Test your knowledge of the commonwealths people, places, and products.

The Pennsylvania Game is made possible in part by Uni-Marts Incorporated with stores in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Serving you with courtesy and convenience every day of the year.

(gentle music) (bell dinging) And by the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program, promoting the taste of an ice cold glass of milk.

Milk doesn't just taste great.

It's one of the all time great tastes.

♪ When it's time to make your mind up ♪ ♪ Make it milk ♪ (upbeat electronic music) - [Host] Now, let's get the game started.

Here's the host of The Pennsylvania Game, Lynn Hinds.

(audience applauding) - Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

We're glad you're having fun with The Pennsylvania Game.

We got some interesting questions to go with an interesting panel and let's meet them.

He's a writer, an author, and upon request, a folk singer.

Bernie Asbell!

(audience applauding) She is a teacher and researcher in exercise physiology and heart rehabilitation.

Barbee Myers.

(audience applauding) And he is a psychologist and an ex-TV actor.

Steve Ragusea.

Let's say hi to Steve.

(audience applauding) Now, the secret, of course, as you know, if you've played before, is to play along at home and see if you can get more right than the best score on our panel.

You in a studio audience and you in the home audience and you've seen a little bit of a tease to our first question.

It's about something that was made for the first time in America and it was made here in the state of Pennsylvania.

Let's watch.

- [Host] This is the site of the first factory of its kind in America.

The product made here was actually created in 1610 by a monk in France as a reward to children for learning their prayers.

Was this product A, the tart?

B, the pretzel?

C, the funnel cake?

Or D, the potato chip?

- Okay.

There are four choices in Bernie Asbell, you're an old hand at this.

You've got one selected right away, I know.

- Well, as a reward for saying your prayers, it can't be the tart, so I think I'll have to say the funnel cake.

C. - [Lynn] You are gonna say C?

- C. Yeah.

- [Lynn] The funnel cake.

You sure it can't be the tart, huh?

(contestants laughing) Barbee, what are you?

Which one have you selected?

- I also selected C, but I have no earthly idea why I chose that answer.

- [Lynn] But you definitely have eliminated the tart.

- I did also eliminate the tart.

- [Lynn] Okay, Steve?

- Well, I'm gonna go with C, too.

It can't be A because Shakespeare talked about tarts in 1500 and the pretzel was from Germany.

We know that, and the potato chip was created by a chef who got sick of people asking for their French fries thinner.

(audience laughing) He finally got fed up one day and made them real thin and served them like that.

- [Lynn] So you're gonna say- - So it's gotta be C. - C, the funnel cake.

Well, it's gotta be one of those.

You're all either right or all wrong.

Let's see which is which.

- [Host] The answer is B, the pretzel.

(audience laughing) Julius Sturgis built the first American pretzel factory in Lititz, Pennsylvania, in 1861.

Today, the pretzels are twisted by automated machinery, but in the beginning, each pretzel was twisted by hand.

Back then, 500 pounds of pretzels was a full day's work.

Today's machines can turn out more than a ton of pretzels each day.

The Sturgis pretzel factory installed America's first automated pretzel machine in 1948, although the current machine is a newer model.

The French monk who created the pretzel did it as a religious symbol.

The twisted pretzel symbolizes arms folded in prayer.

The three holes symbolize the Trinity, father, son, and holy spirit.

- So next time you're having a little brew and ask for pretzels, why, think about what you're doing it.

Religiously.

You're all wrong on that one.

You were right on the potato ship.

It's Saratoga, New York, up where the race track is, is where that was invented.

- That's right.

I knew that.

- That's exactly right.

That must have been our first export.

Or at least our second after tobacco, we sent pretzels back to Germany.

- Do you know that three fourths of the pretzels produced in the United States today are still produced in Lititz, near Lancaster, in that area?

So, Pennsylvania is big on pretezels.

- [Stephen] Is that a future question?

- It could be.

(audience laughing) - [Stephen] Write it down.

- We're also busy on a lot of industries and here's a question about industries.

- [Host] Pennsylvania's leading industry for most number of consecutive years is based on one of the following four.

The question is which one?

Is Pennsylvania's leading industry for the longest time, based on A, lumber, B, agriculture, C, coal, or D, steel?

(gentle music) - Those are, of course, all important to Pennsylvania, and the question is which one for the longest period of time.

Barbee, do you have any idea on that?

- I don't know, but I'll go with D, the steel because of Pittsburgh and steel steel mines.

- Yeah, lots and Bethlehem, we've got a lot of steel mills.

Steve Ragusea.

- I'm gonna go with, what's the question again?

Repeat it again.

(audience laughing) - Well, which one of these industries has been the leading industry for the most number of consecutive years in Pennsylvania?

Yeah, yeah.

- [Stephen] The most number of consecutive years, the leading industry for the most number- - Yeah.

Lumber, agriculture, coal, or steel.

Barbee says steel.

- No, I'm gonna gamble and go with B.

- [Lynn] You're going with farming.

Agriculture, okay.

- Appreciate our dairy industry.

- I was hoping I'd be alone on and sort of go down alone or- - Okay.

They're all reasonable answers, I think, but the question is- - Just have to count the cows around here and you just know.

- Okay, let's see if he's counted.

- [Barbee] Okay.

- [Host] The answer is B, agriculture.

(audience applauding) Today, it combines food production and processing and is called agribusiness.

Agribusiness is Pennsylvania's number one industry, claiming a $35 billion share of the economy each year.

(gentle music) Farming was the basis of Pennsylvania's economy in colonial days and has never been surpassed.

- But lumber, coal, and steel have all come close.

They're all important industries, too.

Bernie, we welcome you back and I revealed today that you're also a folk singer upon request.

Play the guitar and sing folk songs.

- Yeah, I wish you hadn't said that.

- [Lynn] Why?

- I know some things about you, too.

- We might get some gigs for you.

You don't know.

(audience laughing) Barbee Myers.

Barbee did her PhD at the University of Tennessee, but your Bachelor's and Master's were at Wake Forest in North Carolina.

- Yes.

- And you had your grandfather help to clear the land, I understand, for Wake Forest University.

That's quite a story.

I'm sure he was proud to see his granddaughter graduate.

- He sure was.

- From Wake Forest.

We welcome you to Pennsylvania.

- Thank you.

- We'll try to stick a North Carolina question in from time to time.

- Okay, that would be nice.

- Steve Ragusea, Dr. Raucci, is a psychologist in practice in state college, but also in an earlier life.

(contestants laughing) When he was a child back in New York, actually was on one of the best TV series ever on called The Defenders with EG Marshall and you were an actor in that series, right?

- That's right.

I always, I used to play a juvenile delinquent because I looked a lot like Sal Mineo and he was a popular item at the time.

- But you're gone right since then and cleaned up.

- That's right.

I've straightened out my life.

- It was a great series and that's a nice thing.

We're glad to have all three of you here.

Now, as you know, one answer you can give and be right, most of the time in Pennsylvania, is Ben Franklin, but this time, unfortunately, it's not part of the answer.

It's part of the question.

Let's listen.

- [Host] As we all know, Benjamin Franklin was a well-known inventor, but he was also an organizer.

He organized and formed the first A, medical association, B, police department, C, bar association, or D, fire department.

- Okay.

Steve Ragusea, it's your turn to start.

What Ben Franklin organized the first one of which of these in Pennsylvania?

- Well, assuming that the lightning hit the key and assuming that that traveled down to his house and started a fire, I would say it was the first fire department.

- So you've made a connection with the kite to get all the way to the fire department.

Bernie Asbell, where's your connection here?

- Well, I know he would not have organized the doctors.

They take pretty good care of themselves.

(audience laughing) I will go with the fire department.

- [Lynn] You're going with fire departments, also.

- All those wooden houses in Philadelphia.

- [Lynn] Okay.

Barbee, which one would you like to go with?

- Well, I've decided to just give all the wrong answers.

I'll say police department because one of my sisters is a cop.

Why not?

(contestants laughing) - [Lynn] There you go.

- It's as good logic as any of them.

- There you go.

Let's see which is the right answer, though.

- [Host] The answer is D. In 1736, Philadelphia's Men of Property accepted Franklin's proposals for the first volunteer fire department.

This hand pump is said to be the original in Franklin's union fire company.

The members of the company had to have their own leather buckets, linen salvage, bags, and baskets.

Once a month, the members were required to gather and discuss various subjects of fire.

By the mid-1700s, at least eight other companies were formed.

A fire mark indicating insurance coverage was displayed on each house.

The fire companies were rivals and firefighters sometimes let a house burn, if it did not bear the fire mark of their company.

By 1788, Franklin could boast that Philadelphia had the best fire protection of any city in the world, having never lost by fire more than one or two houses at a time.

The first firefighter's museum near Elfreth's Alley is maintained by the Philadelphia fire department.

- And it's really worth a stop by to visit that fire museum in Philadelphia.

It's quite a thing.

They did quite a job with the fire department and Ben Franklin had his hand right in the middle of that.

Now, the next feature is the mystery Pennsylvanian.

I'm gonna give you three clues throughout the show and you guess, as early as you can, the correct identity of the famous mystery Pennsylvanian.

Here we go.

Clue number one.

She was born in Philadelphia in 1906.

In her first substantial movie called "The Johnstown Flood" in 1926, she stole the movie.

She was a big hit in her first movie.

Born in Philadelphia, 1906.

Her first substantial movie was "The Johnstown Flood" made in 1926 and she stole the movie.

So if you know who that is, jot the name down.

If you wanna look puzzled, just continue to look puzzled.

We'll give you more clues as we go along, panel.

Let's see now, as we move along, what you know about Pennsylvania and relationships that it may have with some other states and which is true just to Pennsylvania.

- [Host] Pennsylvania has had a number of firsts among the various states.

Which of the following is not true of our commonwealth?

A, the longest running legislative session.

B, most number of miles of state owned highways.

C, the largest rural population of any state, or D, the highest retail sales tax of any state.

- Okay.

Three of those are true of Pennsylvania.

One is not true.

Now, that's the question.

Which one is not true of Pennsylvania?

The other three are true.

- Is not true now.

- Is not true now of Pennsylvania, right.

Current and contemporary.

- I'm happy to say that it's D. I hope I'm happy to say that it's.

- [Lynn] Pennsylvania does not have- - Does not have the highest retail tax.

- [Lynn] So you're saying Pennsylvania does have the largest rural population, the most number of miles of state owned highways, or the longest running legislation session of any state in the union.

- [Bernie] My God, am I saying that?

- That's what you're saying.

(audience laughing) Barbee, what are you saying here?

- I agree.

I think New York is higher.

- [Lynn] Okay.

- I'm not sure.

- [Lynn] Could be.

I don't know.

I haven't shopped in New York lately.

- I think New York is higher, too, but it surprises me that we have the longest running legislative session.

Our people don't seem to be there that long.

(audience laughing) - You won't get any psychological bills passed, what you said about that.

Okay, let's see if they're all right or all wrong.

Panel?

- [Host] The answer is D. Pennsylvania's 6% retail sales tax is exceeded by Washington state with 6.5% and Connecticut with 7.5%.

Pennsylvania's legislature opens its session the first Tuesday of January and may run for 23 months.

Pennsylvania's 44,000 miles of state-owned roads leads the nation and Pennsylvania has the nation's largest rural population.

(gentle music) - Guess it's the last two that struck me forcibly.

The largest rural population of any state in the union.

- Well, the interesting thing was we all thought it was New York that had the highest and it's not.

It's Washington and Connecticut.

- Connecticut.

- It also shows that taxes aren't killing us.

It just feels that way.

- Well, and that's why we have lot potholes because we have the most miles of highways.

Potholes go along with highways.

- [Bernie] And not enough taxes to fill them.

- The next question is a nature question, but you may want to stand up on a chair to watch it because it's not your favorite part of nature, I'll bet.

- [Host] If you're like most people, you'll be relieved to learn that there are only three kinds of poisonous snakes found in Pennsylvania.

Which of these four poisonous snakes is not found in our commonwealth?

A, timber rattlesnake.

B, massasauga rattlesnake.

C, copperhead, or D, water moccasin.

- Okay.

Only three of those poisonous snakes are found in Pennsylvania.

Just three kinds.

That's probably more than enough, but Barbee, you're from North Carolina, where they got a lot of snakes, I know.

Which one of those you think is not a native of Pennsylvania?

- It's a toss up between C and D. I think D because I'm sure we have all the water moccasins in North Carolina.

- Okay.

So Pennsylvania can therefore have none.

She says D. Steve, what's your answer and what's your logic?

- I don't have any logic.

I'm following her.

- Okay, okay.

All right, Bernie.

- Well, I'm gonna go with B, only because I never heard of it.

- [Lynn] You never heard of a massasauga rattlesnake, so it couldn't be that.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Is that a rattlesnake that rubs your back?

- Well, only if you're very careful.

Let's see what the right answer is.

(audience laughing) - [Host] The answer is D. You're not likely to encounter a water moccasin in Pennsylvania, unless he's just visiting.

But you might see a timber rattlesnake, a massasauga rattlesnake, or a copperhead.

You can tell these from a non-poisonous snake by their flat triangular head and by the slit shape of their eye pupil.

But then who gets close enough to see their eyes?

Timber rattlers are the largest, growing to about five feet long.

They're found in the mountainous areas of 46 counties.

The eastern massasauga, or swamp rattlesnake, is found only in a few Western Pennsylvania counties.

The loss of wetlands has put the massasauga on the endangered list.

The copperhead is Pennsylvania's most common and widely distributed poisonous snake.

It may be some comfort to know that Pennsylvania's venomous snakes are not aggressive and prefer to run if threatened.

(gentle music) - And I will be running in one way and they'll be running in the other and it all works out very well.

I can add one more fact.

They're all pit vipers, which means they've got a little hole between their eyes and their nostrils that that is heat sensing.

So if you get that close to a snake and see that little hole, you know he might be a poisonous snake here in Pennsylvania.

Isn't that useful information?

You actually learn on The Pennsylvania Game, you can save your life.

See?

Okay?

You're ready to get on with a mystery Pennsylvanian, aren't you?

Let's go over here and let me see if I can give you clue number two.

You didn't look like you were completely tuned in to clue number one.

Clue number two for the mystery Pennsylvanian.

In the 1930s, she and Charles Ferrell were called America's favorite love birds.

In 1934, she was Hollywood's top box office attraction.

She took over Mary Pickford's role as America's sweetheart.

Who is this famous mystery Pennsylvanian?

1930, she and Charlie Farrell were called America's favorite lovebirds.

1934, she was the top Hollywood box office attraction and she took over Mary Pickford's role as America's sweetheart.

Now, let's give the score before we give the address and the score, I believe, it has Steve ahead with four right.

Dr. Ragusea, you're doing right well.

(audience applauding) Bernie and Barbee are very close behind.

It's a close game.

If you wanna write to us, by the way, give us a question you'd like to see us use or just say, "Keep the game coming.

We enjoy it," we would appreciate hearing from many of you.

Pennsylvania Game, Wagner Annex, University Park, 16802.

This next question, panel, I think, may surprise you.

It's about people who were born in Pennsylvania, but what part of Pennsylvania?

- [Host] Many popular TV stars were born in Pennsylvania.

Of the following list, three were born in Philadelphia, one in Pittsburgh.

Which of these stars was born in Pittsburgh?

A, Veronica Hamel.

B, Sherman Hemsley.

C, Bill Cosby, or D, Barbara Feldon.

(gentle music) - Okay and I'm sure you all know who they are, but if you don't, let me just review for you.

Veronica Hamel, of course, plays Joyce Davenport on Hill Street Bluels.

Sherman Hemsley was on the Jeffersons, of course.

And Bill Cosby on Bill Cosby Show and Barbara Feldon on Get Smart, I guess was the what most people.

Agent 99, I believe she was.

So that's the choice.

Steve?

- Which one's from Pittsburgh is the question.

- Yeah, yeah.

Three are from Philadelphia.

One is from Pittsburgh.

We wanna know.

Or which three are from Philadelphia.

Either way.

- Well, Bill Cosby is from Philadelphia.

Everybody in the world knows that.

- [Lynn] The audience said they didn't know that until you just told us.

- Veronica Hamel is so sophisticated.

I can't imagine they're coming from Pittsburgh.

(audience laughing) I don't know anyone who lives in Pittsburgh and- - [Lynn] And there go the job offers.

- That's right.

(laughing) I still don't know who Sherman Helmsey is.

- [Lynn] George George Jefferson on the Jeffersons.

- Oh, George?

- Yeah.

George Jefferson.

Great actor.

- I'm gonna go with Barbara Feldman just because I miss her because she was nice.

- Agent 99 was a lovely lady indeed.

Who are you going with, Bernie Asbell?

- I'm going with D, Barbara Feldman, because she's so sophisticated, she must come from Pittsburgh.

- [Lynn] There you go.

There you go.

And there'll be several job offers for you.

Barbee Myers, which one do you select?

They're all well-known television actors.

Which one is from Pittsburgh?

And the other three are from Philadelphia.

- I choose Barbara because of the name.

I don't have any idea.

- [Lynn] Everybody is gone along with D on this one with Barbara Feldon.

Okay.

- She better be from Pittsburgh.

- She better be.

- D might be right, but you might be all wrong.

Let's see.

- [Host] The answer is D, Barbara Feldon, born in Pittsburgh.

Veronica Hamel, Sherman Hemsley, and Bill Cosby were born in Philadelphia.

- Yeah.

Okay.

You knew it.

You got it right.

- [Bernie] We didn't know it.

- Did you know all four?

How many of you knew all four of those were from Pennsylvania?

That's the thing that surprised me.

Yeah, okay.

Very good.

The audience says that's good.

And I didn't know all that, either.

That's kind of interesting, though.

The next question, really, is about an engineering accomplishment.

Something that was a challenge and somebody from Pennsylvania met that engineering challenge.

It might surprise you.

- [Host] The 1890s, an engineer who lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, responded to the challenge to build something that would rival the Eiffel Tower.

His engineering masterpiece was named after its creator.

Is it A, Durham boat.

B, Finley's chain bridge.

C, Ferris wheel or D, Clark's ferry bridge.

- Why, it could be any of those four, Bernie Asbell.

Guy from Pittsburgh rose to the challenge.

What did he build to rival the Eiffel Tower?

You're saying what, C?

- I'm saying, yeah, only the Ferris wheel rivals the Eiffel Tower, except that it's round and I think Irving Ferris did a good job on it.

- Okay.

(laughing) Boy, is that authoritative, right?

Sometimes Bernie's authority, however, is a little questionable.

Barbee, what do you select on this one?

No reason you should know this at all.

- Absolutely not.

I'll go with Finley's chain bridge.

- [Lynn] Okay.

That sounds to me like it must be quite an engineering accomplishment.

- I think it must be.

- How many chain bridges have you ever seen?

Steve?

- Well, Frank Durham invented his boat in 1742.

(audience laughing) Marsha Finley didn't do the chain bridge until 1984 and Clark invented a chocolate bar, now the Ferry bridge.

- So I'm gonna go with Ferris wheel and I think it was Marshall Ferris.

- I love it when you guys tried to out authority each other and neither of you knows what you're talking.

Let's see which of these is the correct answer.

- [Host] The answer is C. George Washington Gale Ferris revealed the world's first Ferris wheel at the Chicago Fair in 1893.

This original Ferris wheel rose 250 feet above the ground.

It had 36 cars with each car holding up to 40 persons for a total ridership of 1,440 when full.

The axle was so massive that it could support six times the weight of a bridge of that day.

So the next time you're going around in a modern Ferris wheel, remember that it all started with George Washington Gale Ferris in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

- Is that a neat question or not, Bernie?

- Lynn, it was not George Washington Ferris.

It was Washington Irving Ferris.

- (laughing) Okay.

That was a massive.

That first one at the Chicago fair, though.

Holding all those people was a massive Ferris wheel.

We just got babies today.

We've got a question for you now that I want you to listen carefully to because this is one of my favorite questions of all time about Pennsylvania trivia.

It's about the three largest cities in Pennsylvania.

Here's what they are.

- [Host] Pennsylvania's three largest cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Erie.

If three other colonies had won their claims to land they believed to be in their charters, these three cities would all have been in other states.

Which of these four states would not have had of ne of Pennsylvania's big three?

A, New York.

B, Virginia.

C, Connecticut, or D, Maryland.

(gentle music) - Now, just so you understand the question.

Pennsylvania's three largest cities, Erie, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, would've been, all three of them, in other states.

Only one of these would not have had one of those three major cities, if the early colonial claims had been honored.

New York state, Virginia, Connecticut, or Maryland.

And this is question number eight, so it must be one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Where are we?

Barbee?

Barbee, you're first.

- I don't know.

- [Lynn] Yeah.

Which one?

Thinking will not help on this question.

I'll give you that advice.

- Oh, just go with A, New York.

- You're going with New York?

- I have no idea.

- Okay.

Steve?

Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Erie would've been in three other states.

Which one would not have had one of those cities?

- Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Erie.

- Somebody in the audience wants you to guess C, but I don't know if that's right.

- [Stephen] Who said C?

- Somebody right up here in front.

Young gentleman.

- Well, they must be right.

- [Lynn] If a young gentleman said it, it must be right.

Bernie Asbell, which one do you select?

- I think it might be C because New York could have had Erie, I think.

Virginia, you know, once was measured on a triangle without telling where the end was.

So that could have been almost anything.

I'll go with Connecticut, which is misspelled there, by the way.

- Is it really?

Don't point out our misspelling.

Let's see the correct answer.

- The answer is A, New York.

Philadelphia would be in Maryland, had not an agreement in 1760 led to the survey by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, establishing the Mason Dixon line as the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh would be in Virginia, had not governor Patrick Henry given up Virginia's claim of five counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Erie would be in Connecticut, had not the United States Congress ruled in 1782 that Connecticut's claimed northern Pennsylvania was invalid.

New York and Pennsylvania settled their boundary on friendly terms.

- Actually, I knew that.

(audience laughing) - (laughing) I love it!

Barbee's the only one that got that right and the score is very close.

Steve Ragusea has six, Bernie has five, and Barbee has four.

Close game.

You're only just, you know- - [Barbee] We've got to get Barbee, Steve.

- Absolutely.

- Let's give you the last clue of the mystery Pennsylvanian.

I'm gonna ask you to guess right away.

1927, she won the very first Oscar ever given by Hollywood for best actress.

The film was called Seventh Heaven, but many say that her best role as a star was in 1937 in A Star is Born, her best performance.

Who was this famous?

Won the first Oscar ever given in 1927 for best actress.

Any guesses over there?

I see a couple of blank looks.

Bernie?

Bernie, put it up there.

What do you say.

- Janet Gaynor.

- [Lynn] Either of you have a guess?

- No, I went with Bea Arthur or Bette Davis.

- Okay.

Let's see if Bernie's right or wrong with Janet Gaynor.

- [Host] Janet Gaynor was born Laura Gaynor in Philadelphia.

(audience applauding) With large eyes, charm, and innocent look made her a perfect star for the 1930s.

(gentle music) There were few stars in the early days of talking movies that were more famous.

At the end of her career, Janet Gaynor said, "I think I've had a wonderful career.

I enjoyed it all and have no sad tales to tell you."

Janet Gaynor, winner of the first Oscar for best actors, a native Pennsylvanian.

- What a wonderful thing to say at the end of your life.

I've had a wonderful life.

I have no regrets.

Six right is the best score on the panel.

We've had a wonderful show and we thank you all for joining us and we'll see you next time when we all gather to play The Pennsylvania Game.

See you later.

(audience applauding) Now, we just stand here and talk.

(gentle music) - [Host] The Pennsylvania Game has been made possible in part by Uni-Marts Incorporated with stores in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Serving you with courtesy and convenience every day of the year.

(gentle upbeat music) And by the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program, promoting the taste of an ice cold glass of milk.

Milk doesn't just taste great.

It's one of the all time great tastes.

♪ When it's time to make your mind up ♪ ♪ Make it milk ♪ (audience applauding) (upbeat electronic music)