[upbeat music] Joshua Pusey invented a roller coaster, a mailbox, and coin-operated opera glasses, but he became famous for inventing something else.

Do you know what it was?

We'll find out, as we all play The Pennsylvania Game.

[applause] [upbeat music] The Pennsylvania Game is made possible in part by Uni-Marts, Incorporated, with stores in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

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

Uni-Marts, more than a convenience store.

And by the Pennsylvania Public Television Network.

[upbeat music] Now, let's get the game started.

Here's the host of The Pennsylvania Game, the woman who has all the answers-- of course, she's holding all the cue cards-- Lynn Cullen.

Thank you.

Woo.

I can't believe it.

That is the 14th time I've come down those steps, and I never fell once I feel.

Hey!

[applause] Yes, the grace of a gazelle.

Let me introduce you to our panel.

It's a great panel.

Fred Gadomski is a transplanted New Englander.

He's also one of the producers and hosts of Weather World on WPSX-TV Penn State.

Please welcome Fred Gadomski.

[applause] And our next panelist is a news core-- correspondent-- excuse me, Edie-- for WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.

Early in her career, she was a registered nurse and made national headlines when she doubled as an actress and consultant for the NBC daytime drama The Doctors.

Please welcome Edie Huggins.

Thank you.

[applause] And finally, he's funny.

He's a stand-up comic, and he's big trouble.

He's originally from State College, Pennsylvania.

Please welcome Scott Bruce.

[applause] My people.

OK, shall we just jump right in?

What the heck?

Shall we just dive right in?

Let's do it.

This guy's name is Joshua Pusey.

In 1892, attorney Joshua Pusey of Lima, Pennsylvania conceived the idea for a product and took out a patent on it.

Four years later, in 1896, a brewery ordered 10 million of this product to use for its advertising.

What product did Joshua Pusey invent?

Was it A, pennants, B, book matches, C, paper napkins, or D, fountain pens?

Hmm.

What was Pusey's invention?

They don't have the slightest idea.

You got to vote.

I need a vote or a guess, whatever you want to call it.

And I need an explanation-- need an explanation from Fred.

You need an explanation?

Oh, it's getting harder all the time.

Book matches.

It would seem to me that that would have been about the right time for something like that to occur.

That's all I'm going with right now because I'm totally ignorant in this area.

OK, OK. Well, maybe not.

We will find out in a moment.

Edie, what do you think?

You know what?

I'm going to go along with book matches.

Now I'm wondering, were staples used back there, too?

So I just press B?

You just did, and it's popped up right here.

We see that you did it.

You did it.

We've got two B's, and we've got Scott Bruce.

You're going to make u-nann-imous?

Nnnnnaimous?

I am, as a matter of fact.

I'm going with book matches, too, but for an entirely different reason.

I felt-- I felt we needed to light a fire under this thing, and this was the best way to go.

All right.

Oh, yeah.

See, I told you he was funny, and he struck paydirt already.

All right, all right, all right.

All right, all right, all right, down, down.

We'll have to close the cover.

Let's-- let's get the answer.

Oi.

The answer is B, book matches.

The sulfur friction match was invented some 50 years earlier, but it was Pusey who first put matches into small folding books.

On a potbellied stove in his law office, he brewed up a batch of potassium chlorate.

He then dipped the ends of 50 small cardboard strips into the potion.

He painted a striking compound inside, folded pieces of cardboard, and finished by stapling 10 strips inside each cover.

It was such a hot idea that three years later, Pusey sold his paper matchbook patent to the Diamond Match Company for a reputed $5,000 and was paid an annual retainer of $5,000 until his death in 1906.

Hey, it added up.

Matchbooks, by the way, are the third most popular collectible in the United States.

And they're free, so it's easy to collect them.

Do you know what a matchbook collector is called?

Hothead.

A what?

Hothead.

A hothead.

Ha-ha-ha.

A phillumenist.

[laughs] I don't know.

That question, by the way, was submitted by Dee Polly of Gettysburg, and Dee is going to be getting a year subscription to Pennsylvania magazine as a result.

Thank you, Dee.

We appreciate it.

OK, how about the Civil War?

I hate to take you back to that unhappy chapter in our history, but here we go.

The earliest of those to respond to President Lincoln's call for volunteers to defend the Union were five Pennsylvania companies, the Ringgold Light Artillery of Reading, the Logan Guards of Lewistown, the Washington Artillerists, the National Light Infantry of Pottsville, and the Allen Infantry of Allentown.

By what name were these volunteers known?

Was it A, First Defenders, B, Faith and Power of Pennsylvania, C, the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, or D, Bucktail Regiment?

Hmm.

What were they called?

I guess all of those make some sense.

These were the first ones to respond to President Lincoln's call for volunteers for the Civil War.

And I need answers.

Have you logged them in?

Edie, did you log that in?

I'm going-- yeah.

OK, what did you guess?

I put Bucktail Regiment because I just like the name.

First Defenders is probably the right answer, but I like bucktail.

I mean-- Well, go with what you like.

What the heck about us?

We don't care what's right.

I don't have a clue, and I decided that since I've always been a first offender, I'd go with First Defender.

OK, OK. Fred?

I also like Bucktail Regiment.

It seems to me, back then, they used to name things after basic things, none of this first, last everything regiment.

It was usually an animal or something.

So I went with Bucktail.

I guess a bucktail is a basic kind of a thing.

We've got two Bucktails and one First Offender.

Let's see if anyone's right.

The answer is A.

The famous Pennsylvania First Defenders were the earliest to answer Father Abraham's call for volunteers.

On April 18, 1861, the First Defenders boarded trains in Harrisburg, passed through Baltimore despite threats of mob violence, and that evening became the first Union troops to arrive in Washington.

[upbeat music] Let's get to know these characters a little bit better.

Fred, you teach meteorology here at Penn State?

Yeah, that's part of what I do.

I also play weatherman on television as well.

Do you know I got my start in television as a weekend weather girl?

What's an occluded front?

I don't have the slightest-- something that's wrong with my teeth after I had braces.

I don't know.

I don't-- when I got the job, they didn't ask if I knew anything about the weather.

They just asked if I could stand in front of a map and BS.

And I could.

And so can I.

[laughter] Yeah, but you guys are wrong all the time.

Nobody ever calls you on it.

Edie, Edie, Edie.

Yes?

What's with the soap?

So you could have had a television soap opera kind of career?

Yeah, maybe I could have, but CBS invited me to come to Philadelphia.

They were expanding the news from a half an hour to an hour, and that's when John Facenda and Don Barnhorst and Herb Clark and Tommy Brookshier.

And they wanted an African-American woman.

And I was a nurse.

What did I know?

So I learned by doing, and I hope I've learned.

OK. Oh, all these opportunities available.

Obviously a multi-talented woman.

It's a pleasure to have you here.

I keep my nursing license renewed, though, even though it's been 27 years.

OK. Well, if one of us goes into cardiac arrest-- That's right.

I'm ready.

I'm ready.

Yeah, we're in good shape.

Scott Bruce, have you sort of been like-- were you the class clown and stuff in school?

Were you always in trouble?

That's a question you get asked all the time.

I think Billy Crystal had the best answer to that question.

He said, you know the guy that used to take off his shirt and run across the middle of the football field during a game with whipped cream on him?

He said, that wasn't me.

I was the guy who talked him into it.

[laughter] That's-- OK. Well, you credited Billy Crystal.

That's very kind of you.

Billy said that.

Right, right.

Because comics rip each other off every once in a while.

It happens.

It happens.

I know.

Hey, listen, let's get back to the game.

When the Pennsylvania legislature passed this bill we're about to find out about it, they were truly flush with success.

In 1990, the Restroom Equity Bill became law.

Its author, Representative Ruth Rudy of the 171st District, has since drafted an amendment to that legislation.

Her new bill is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

What does this new bill require?

A, electronic dryers instead of paper towels, B, diaper-changing areas in men's and women's restrooms, C, a ban on pay toilets, or D, a lounge area in new women's restrooms?

Ha-ha.

Now this will be-- this is the amendment to the famous Potty Parity Bill.

What did that amendment have to do with?

Get your answers in there.

And, Scott, you can't do this with a straight face, I'm sure.

Scott?

No, I know.

I mean, we're in the restroom area.

It's very-- very difficult.

I went with B, diaper-changing areas, and I'm very pleased to see that they put them in men's and women's because I like to just change a diaper every now and again.

I've enjoyed doing that all my life.

And so this is going to give me another opportunity.

There, see.

You do have an opportunity.

Isn't that wonderful?

Aye-yai-yai.

Fred?

Well, I only have experience with men's restrooms at this point.

And the only thing I've noticed that has changed recently is electric hand dryers are more-- Prevalent.

You could call it that.

Yes.

I mean, guys didn't have them before?

Oh, we had them, but now it seems like it's a law.

Yeah, well, it would make sense because in Harrisburg, there's a lot of hot air.

It would make sense that they might say, you got to have hot air in the restroom.

All right, all right, all right.

Edie?

I hate-- I hate, with a passion, electric hand dryers.

I'd rather do like this than do like that.

I'm spreading germs or something.

And I hate the idea of pay toilets.

My-- there should be an amendment that says you got to go, you got to go, and you shouldn't have to pay.

So C, I'm hoping.

OK, a ban on pay toilets.

Haven't you ever crawled under one?

Not since I was younger.

Who hasn't crawled under a pay toilet in their life?

I'd like to know.

Let's find out what this amendment is.

The answer is B.

Representative Ruth Rudy of Center Hall introduced a bill that would require diaper-changing areas in both men's and women's restrooms at newly-built public places, such as stadiums, airports, ski resorts, and other areas.

The idea is to make it easier to find a safe, clean place to change infants.

The cost for adding a diaper table is estimated to be $200.

There, see.

Isn't that nice to see all those-- nice to see all those men changing diapers for a change.

Scott, you're way out ahead.

You got three whole points.

You've got everyone right.

I'm jumping.

Yeah, and Edie and Fred have one each, and this game is very much still-- you're all in it.

We'll make up.

We'll make up.

[applause] [upbeat music] Oh, boy, here's our first clue for the Mystery Pennsylvanian.

This is a rough one, I want to warn you.

Born Rachel Irene Beebe in Odin, Pennsylvania, she created Potter County's one and only girl detective, which brought her loyal readers and scores of phantom friends.

[upbeat music] You want the author?

Yeah, who is this person?

Scott, those faces.

Born Rachel Irene Beebe, she created Potter County's one and only girl detective, which brought her loyal readers and scores of phantom friends.

I'm sorry.

We're all getting a little bit giddy here.

OK?

Who knows?

Who knows?

Who knows?

Let's get you on to another question.

This is about-- about Indians-- Indian Chiefs, in fact, I think.

I think.

This Seneca Indian chief helped early Pennsylvania settlers establish peaceful relations with the Indians during the early years of American independence.

In 1791, the Pennsylvania General Assembly expressed its gratitude to this famous Indian chief by awarding him a 640-acre tract of land near Warren, Pennsylvania, which is known by the same name.

Who was this famous Seneca Indian chief?

A, Red Jacket, B, Handsome Lake, C, Cornplanter, or D, Lappawinzoe?

Ooh, what wonderful names.

What wonderful names.

Why don't we call people names like that?

Anyway, pick one, pick one.

Red Jacket, Handsome Lake, Cornplanter, or Lappawinzoe.

Fred, how'd you vote?

I voted A. I was going to go with Lappawinzoe there, which I thought, who could make that up?

But then I, all of a sudden, felt Red Jacket was the right answer.

OK, Red Jacket's got one.

Edie, what do you think?

Lappawinzoe.

Don't ask why.

Don't ask why.

Just don't ask.

Don't ask.

Scott?

I used the exact same reason for Lappawinzoe.

[laughter] OK, they managed to spell add, A- D- D. Let's see if any of this adds up to at least one correct answer.

The answer is C. Chief Cornplanter was the son of a high-born Seneca woman and a white trader.

He was a principal war chief of the Seneca Indians.

In the late 1700s, Chief Cornplanter reluctantly assumed the role of peacekeeper between the colonists and the Indians.

He engaged in peaceful bargaining with the whites over territory.

He regarded the negotiations as the only way to help the Indians.

But by 1812, Cornplanter had become disillusioned with the way Indians were being treated by the white man and regretted his part in assimilating his people to the culture of the white man.

Oh, boy, a sad story there.

Cornplanter, a great Seneca chief.

OK, how about let's get on a-- aye-yai-yai, I never do this myself-- a roller coaster?

Fasten your seat belts, pop a Dramamine if you need to.

I'm going to.

Here we go.

Ooh.

Kennywood Park, the coaster capital of the world, is located just 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Since it started in 1898, Kennywood Park has had 12 roller coasters.

Its newest coaster is the Steel Phantom.

When it was built in 1991 by aerodynamics, it was the world's biggest and fastest roller coaster.

At top speed, just how fast does the Steel Phantom go?

Is it A, 59 miles per hour, B, 120 miles per hour, C, 71 miles per hour, or D, 80 miles per hour?

Hmm, they're thinking.

Like I should know?

What is it, 59, 120, 71, or 80?

How fast does that Steel Phantom go?

Edie?

D, 80.

80.

I have no idea.

Sure, what the heck?

That sounds good to me.

80 miles per hour.

Bruce?

Scott?

Ooh, Scott, Scott.

Bruce.

You've got one of those names that could go both ways.

That's OK.

I'm flexible about it, so don't worry.

Sorry.

I went with either 17 or 71.

Oh, no, I'm sorry.

See, I did the same thing as you did with my name.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I didn't even get it.

OK, you went with 71, did you?

71.

It was a nice, round number.

OK.

Right.

Fred?

I went with 80 because it's a round number and at least it's more than the speed limit.

Yes, indeed.

OK, we got two 80s.

We've got a 71.

And I don't know if we have a right answer here.

We're about to find out.

The answer is D. At its top speed of 80 miles per hour, the Steel Phantom is currently the fastest roller coaster in the world.

It's second dip, which is 225-feet long, is the world's biggest drop.

The entire ride covers some 3,000 feet of track and takes just 1 minute 45 seconds to complete.

The previous fastest, at 71 miles per hour, was the Magnum roller coaster at Cedar Point.

It really is.

Oh, man, I can't even watch-- I can't even watch that video.

It makes me sick.

I don't know how anybody can do that.

Aye-yai-yai.

Hey, they're catching up to you, Scott.

You still have three, but now they have two.

We've got a very tight game.

[applause] [upbeat music] OK, here's your second clue to the Mystery Pennsylvanian.

You looked awfully confused on the first one.

See if that helps.

Let's see if this helps you out.

She wrote the longest running and most popular girl series ever written by a single author.

She wrote the longest running and most popular girls' series ever written by a single author.

Girl detective, one and only girl detective.

Brought her scores of phantom friends.

These are all clues, which from the looks of things, don't mean a thing to any of you.

OK. We'll move on.

We'll move on, put you out of your m-m-m-misery.

It won't come as a surprise that a 1991 national survey of 2,500 truckers conducted by Overdrive magazine ranked Pennsylvania's roads-- guess what?

The worst.

The worst.

You got it.

The worst in the country.

And the reason was-- Potholes.

Potholes.

See, this is why she's a news correspondent in Philly.

OK, then you're going to do very well on this one.

I hope.

In 1980, the pothole hotline was established by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to address complaints from citizens about nuisance potholes.

In the early days of the toll-free hotline, the department logged an average of 16,000 calls.

But there are no plans to fill the state's biggest pothole, which now measures 38 feet deep and 42 feet across because it has become a popular tourist attraction.

What is the name of this famous obstacle?

Is it A, Tire Buster, B, Archbald Pothole, C, Devil's Sink, or D, Deep Depression?

Oh, man, I'm in a deep depression just imagining a pothole that big.

We need a quick vote, and I need an explanation from Scott.

Oh.

Boy, those are such all good answers.

I don't think I could come up with a comedy one better.

I went with A, Tire Buster because it was first on the list and easiest to reach.

OK, OK. We got one Tire Buster.

And Fred?

Well, as far as I'm concerned, potholes are not a laughing matter.

Certainly not.

So I chose the answer that has no humor, the Archbald Pothole.

OK, OK.

I chose the Archbald Pothole for no rhyme, no reason.

Well, none of them-- they're admitting they don't know what they're talking about, but the fact of the matter is, is there is a correct answer here.

OK. We'll see which one.

The answer is B.

The Archbald Pothole is one of the world's largest glacial potholes.

It's located along US Route 6 about six miles northeast of Scranton.

The pothole was formed by swirling meltwater during the retreat of the Wisconsin ice sheet thousands of years ago.

OK, from potholes, that depressing subject, to porters.

I don't mean guys who carry bags.

Let's see what I do mean.

There are seven Porter townships in Pennsylvania-- one in Clarion, Clinton, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Lycoming, Pike, and Schuylkill counties.

They, along with the town of Portersville, Butler County, are all named after one person.

Was that person A, Cole Porter, B, Gene Stratton Porter, C, David Rittenhouse Porter, or D, Fitz John Porter?

Who was that famous Porter person that got all those townships named after him?

Fred?

The only one I know is Cole Porter, but it can't be Cole Porter.

So then I went with an answer I haven't chosen yet, which is C. You've never gone to a C?

OK, who knows?

See if it does anything for you.

Edie?

I took Porter and I added Rittenhouse from Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, and I hit C. OK, that makes some sense.

We'll see.

Scott?

I just remember in high school hearing the word Rittenhouse a lot.

So I said Rittenhouse, David Rittenhouse Porter, C. They are in agreement for various reasons, but they think Rittenhouse rings a bell.

Let's see.

The answer is C. All seven townships in the town of Portersville are named after Pennsylvania governor David Rittenhouse Porter.

He was born October 31, 1788 at Norristown.

In 1839, he was elected governor of Pennsylvania and served two terms until 1844.

OK, there you have it.

They were one powerful family, that Porter family.

They were called the royal family.

Mary Todd Lincoln was somehow related to them.

Everybody was related.

You're probably related to them, for all I know.

I might be related to them.

I don't know.

Little League.

Anybody play it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, let's see if you know anything about it.

Little League baseball was created in 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Today, some 2.5 million boys and girls participate in Little League baseball worldwide.

Who is its creator?

Is it A, Lewie Brown, B, Peter J. McGovern, C, Carl Stotz, or D, Abner Doubleday?

OK, who was that person who got Little League going?

It has really taken off.

I don't know any little kid who isn't involved in Little League now.

Edie?

I chose C because there's C in Carl.

[laughs] C?

OK, these reasons are getting more and more tortured.

They're nebulous, right.

Aye-yai-yai.

Scott?

I went with A, Lewie Brown.

And my only reason was I think he's also the guy that they made that song "Louie Louie" about.

Louie, "Lou-eye."

So I went with that.

I would, too, then.

This one-- Fred?

--this one, I think I actually pulled out of the misty interior of my brain.

And I think it's C. You think Carl Stotz?

For some reason.

Carl Stotz?

Yeah, let's see.

The answer is C, Carl Stotz.

Before 1939, only teenagers and adults could play in organized baseball.

So Carl Stotz, who had two young nephews eager to play ball, organized a three-team neighborhood activity.

It has since become the world's largest organized youth sport.

Carl Stotz died in June of 1992 at the age of 82.

[upbeat music] OK, here is our final clue for the Mystery Pennsylvanian.

In print from 1932 to '67, each book is based on a person, place, or event that actually existed in and around Austin, PA. She wrote the longest running and most popular girl series ever written by a single author.

Who is this woman, this mystery, this famous Pennsylvania author?

OK, I need you to give me some answers fast.

Scott?

OK. What do you have there?

I started off not having a clue.

I figured it might have been Nancy Drew's cousin, Alice.

Then I figured it might have been Nancy Drew's creator.

And finally, I decided on Gloria Bruce because I wanted to say my mom's name on TV.

Aw.

OK, what do we have here?

That's cute.

I really didn't know at first.

But it wasn't-- I knew it wasn't Agatha Christie.

They're funny, at least.

They're not right.

Mine is not funny.

I think the answer is right, but I don't know her name because I read Nancy Drew.

But that was a long time ago.

I was a Nancy Drew reader, too.

Let's see if we're talking about the creator of Nancy Drew here.

Margaret Sutton was born Rachel Irene Beebe in Odin, Pennsylvania in 1903.

She enchanted generations of children and adults with her Judy Bolton mystery stories, which sold 4 million copies.

Her books are unique in the history of juvenile mystery series.

Each of the 38 stories was written by one author.

The heroine actually grew up and married in the series, and the stories were based on actual events and places.

The flood in book number one, The Vanishing Shadow, for example, is based on the Austin Flood of 1911.

According to the Phantom Friends Fan Club, the Judy Bolton series was phased out by its publisher, Grosset and Dunlap, because it was competing with Nancy Drew mysteries, a syndicated series that it also published.

Although bitter about the series' demise, Sutton said, quote, "I have the satisfaction that although Nancy Drew's were the best sellers, mine were the best loved."

Margaret Sutton, a famous Pennsylvanian.

OK.

Boy, this game has gone quickly.

Our winners are two-- both of you-- I'm sorry, Scott.

Let's shake hands.

Congratulations, guys.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Thank you.

And mwah, thank you.

Thanks for playing The Pennsylvania Game.

Join us next week, and we'll do it again.

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

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

Uni-Marts, more than a convenience store.

And by the Pennsylvania Public Television Network.

Meals and lodging for contestants of The Pennsylvania Game provided by the Nittany Lion Inn, located on Penn State's University Park campus.

[applause] [upbeat music]