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Electric Meter: indicating the amount of electrical energy dispensed or applied, was invented by Oliver B. Shallenberger of Rochester, Pa. who obtained a patent No. 388003 on August 14, 1888. Commercial production of the meters was started in August 1888 by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Atomic Electric Generating Station: (full scale) devoted exclusively to peaceful uses is the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, Shippingport, Pa. whose reactor attained criticality December 2, 1957. The plant produced its full rated capacity of 60,000 net kilowatts on December 23,1957. It consists of a single pressurized water-type reactor and its associated systems, four stream generators heated by the reactor, a single turbine-generator and associated systems, a radioactive waste disposal system, laboratory, shops and administrative facilities. The station was designed to supply an initial electrical output of 60,000 kilowatts net, enough to provide for the residential needs of a city of 250,000 people. To allow for increased output from future nuclear fuel loadings, the turbine generator was designed with a capacity of 1,000,000 kilowatts. President Dwight David Eisenhour broke ground for the station by remote control from Denver, Colo., on September 6,1954, and, and formally dedicated the plant by remote control from Washington, D.C. on May 26, 1958.
Glass: Cut glass made from pressed blanks was manufactured in 1902 by Henry Clay Fry, who organized the H.C. Fry Glass Company, Rochester, Pa. The glass was pressed into a mold, the marks of the iron plunger remaining on the inside of the glass. Previously, cut glass had been blown.
Corkboard (Impregnated): was made in 1900 by the Armstrong Cork Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. It was produced in a specially constructed plant in Beaver Falls, Pa. The business grew rapidly until the "composition" corkboard gave way entirely to pure corkboard insulation.
Plastic: Expandable, polystyrene production (commercial) was undertaken by the Koppers Company, Kobuta, Pa. in 1954, with 17 tons valued at $20,000. Full production was not attempted until April 1958. Polystyrene is produced in small beads, which when heated in molds expand to take the shape of the enclosure.
FROM: FAMOUS FIRST FACTS, by Joseph Nathan Kane