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Famous Pittsburgh Morse code landmark actually spells Pitetsbkrrh
Since March 1929, the 33 story Grant building in downtown Pittsburgh has been home to a huge flashing beacon, using Morse code to spell the word "Pittsburgh". The beacon was installed so aviators could avoid the 500 foot structure, even though commercial air travel was not well established upon completion of the tower.
When Tom Stepleton was waiting for the local Fourth of July fireworks show to begin, he started decoding the Morse code message, but to his amazement, he noticed the flashing blink of the letter "K". Since there is no K in Pittsburgh, he decoded the rest of the message, and discovered that the landmark was actually spelling "Pitetsbkrrh".
It isn't clear how long the beacon had been relaying the incorrect message, but the building's current owners are aware of the mistake.
Mr. Stepleton is a recreational pilot, and even though the FAA no longer requires pilots to master Morse code, it isn't too hard to learn. The correct beacon flash pattern should be ".--. .. - - ... -... ..- .-. --. .... ". If you want to learn more about Morse code, or if you'd just like to mess around with it, and see your own name in Morse, check out this fun online Morse code decoder/encoder.
UPDATE: Now the building is flashing "TPEBTSAURGH"
Gallery: 10 tourist destinations with a funny name
Filed under: North America, United States, Video
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Frankie Jul 14th 2009 6:53PM
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha thats insane must be someone from germany that did that
Alice Jul 14th 2009 7:25AM
Not sure how they could have mispelled words 80 years ago unless they had prisoners working. We have many mispelled words here in Baltimore such as "Shcool Crossing", "Rairload Ahead" and many more since our mayor Dixon hires her friends.
carolyn millhouse Jul 14th 2009 4:20PM
I know what you mean, we have a place here in Florida called Red Dick. It,s a small city and i,m glad i don,t live there. I would hate to see the faces of people that get mail from anyone that lives there.
Mike Jul 14th 2009 7:20PM
Its called Reddick, FL
Wish Belkin Jul 14th 2009 8:01AM
If you say "Pitetsbkrrh" backwards, the whole city goes back to the fourth dimension where it belongs.
Josh Jul 14th 2009 9:11AM
I'm sure Pitetsbkrrh will cause a lot of trouble for the man of steel before this day is done!
Ed Jul 14th 2009 9:18AM
The flashing light is very poor. The dashes are ok but the dots are way too long.
Plus the full message is being sent too slow.
USN Ret
Bob Jul 14th 2009 9:24AM
Pennsylvania is spelled wrong on the Liberty Bell.
mage0213 Jul 14th 2009 10:47AM
pensylvania is a common spelling around the end of the war- it is also spelled the same in num,erous sections of the US Constitution as well as even within Harrisburg and on other state offices, it was an acceptable spelling that was never changed.. do a search for pensylvania and you will see that that isn't the only place it is spelled that way :)
Elaine Jul 14th 2009 4:23PM
Since the Liberty Bell was here before us, maybe WE'RE the one's spelling it wrong. . . .
Unkle Fezter Jul 17th 2009 1:49PM
In that time period it was common for words to be spelled phoenetically. Strict rules were not followed until very recently. In fact.... it used to be quite common for people to spell their own names differently from time to time. Example: Shakespeare used something like 5 different spellings of his own last name.(I'm not familiar with the exact number of spellings.)
David Jul 14th 2009 9:36AM
Piitsburg sucks lol
L Jul 14th 2009 10:09AM
What... are you from Cleveland???
CITY OF CHAMPIONS, BABY!!! STEELERS & PENGUINS!!!
(never claimed to be the spelling bee capital of the world... and I know the Pirates are the pits, so no need to go there!)
LOL
stevez Jul 14th 2009 12:48PM
I agree Pittsburgh SUCKS and are cheaters and liars
Steel Town Jul 15th 2009 8:35PM
It's steel town, baby. We're the best of the rust belt. If you can't take the heat . . .
Jerrold Jul 16th 2009 3:57PM
I'm from the Pittsburgh area, and I live in Cleveland now, and can say that neither city sucks! I lived in "first tier" cities like Washington, DC, for eight years, and there was a helluva lot more crime and strife there than in either of my former and current hometowns.
So stop lookin' down, Pittsburgh ... and Cleveland ... (which, on topic, used to be spelled Cleaveland in some publications) ... there are worse places in the world to be than either of you ... like Detroit!
David Jul 14th 2009 9:37AM
No matter how its spelled
Joe Hanic Jul 14th 2009 9:47AM
Maybe it didn't go unnoticed before. Sometimes when you report such things, the people who should care roll their eys and give you a "get a life" look. "You know what it means" is a phrase I hear over and over, as if accuracy is now unimportant.
Tigerlily Jul 14th 2009 11:22AM
LOL You're so right. I bet that is what happened....
ReaganRocks Jul 14th 2009 10:22PM
This is likely the truth. With "Spell Check" and text messaging, the entire American culture, below the age of 45, seems to no longer care to spell, or use punctuation, with any degree of accuracy.