We're #1: Lollipops, Frisbees, Helicopters, Vacuums & Nuclear Subs

If you ever wondered why Connecticut is often referred to as the home of Yankee Ingenuity (as opposed to being the Land of Steady Habits), a review of the state's "firsts" in the past century may explain.  When does that museum exhibit open, dedicated to the state's firsts? The list:

1907 -- first permanent public planning body in America, Hartford's Commission on the City Plan 1908 -- first lollipop 1920 -- first Frisbee, Yale students discovered empty pie plates from Mrs. Frisbie Pies in Bridgeport could be sailed across the New Haven Green 1933 -- first vacuum cleaner 1934 -- first Polaroid camera 1939 -- first FM radio station, WDRC-FM began broadcasting in Hartford 1939 -- first helicopter, Igor Sikorsky designed the first successful helicopter in the Western Hemisphere 1948 -- first color television 1949 -- first ultra high frequency UHF television station to operate on a daily basis, KC2XAK in Bridgeport 1954 -- first nuclear submarine, launched in New London 1982 -- first artificial heart, Dr. Robert K. Jarvik, a Stamford native, invented the world's first artificial heart

No doubt, there are others.  But these are not too shabby.  Wonder if PEZ counts.*

(*sorry, PEZ moved to Orange in 1974 from NYC, but had its origins in Europe)