BY THE NUMBERS
16 FEET: Length of the walk-on keyboard from Big, now at the Please Touch Museum. 45 FEET: The height of Claes Oldenburg's pop-art Clothespin statue near City Hall. 203: Chicken wings eaten by the winner of this year's Wing Bowl. 1,300 POUNDS: The weight of the Rocky statue perched atop the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. $100,000: The denomination of the rarest bill on view at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
CHEESESTEAK CLASS WAR
FOR THE NOUVEAU RICHE:
Kobe Cheesesteak
INGREDIENTS: Kobe hanger steak, butter-poached lobster, black truffles, house-made mustard
PRICETAG: $100
WHERE TO GET IT: Barclay Prime (www.barclayprime.com)
STEAKS SOLD PER WEEK: 35-50
FOR THE WORKING STIFF:
Traditional Cheesesteak
INGREDIENTS: Steak, onions, Cheez Whiz or provolone, Amoroso roll
PRICETAG: $7.40
WHERE TO GET IT: Jim's Steaks (www.jimssteaks.com)
STEAKS SOLD PER WEEK: 8,000
NOTABLE NATIVES W.C. Fields (comedian), Kevin Bacon (actor), Bill Cosby (comedian), Grace Kelly (actor), M. Night Shyamalan (director), Pink (musician), Chubby Checker (musician), The Roots (band), Alexander Calder (artist)
The city-sponsored Mural Arts Program is responsible for MORE THAN 2,700 public artworks around Philadelphia - including tributes to Frank Sinatra, Julius "Dr. J" Erving and Larry Fine of The Three Stooges.
DO YOU KNOW? In the 19th century, Independence Hall was home to the city's dog pound. • Philadelphia's Rodin Museum is home to 127 masterpieces by the French sculptor - the world's largest collection outside of Paris. • The Academy of Natural Sciences was the first natural history institution in America. • Whoops! Even before the Liberty Bell cracked, it had a typo. Look close for the word "Pensylvania."
TIMELINE AMERICA'S FIRST ZOO HAS BEEN HOME TO A LOT OF FIRSTS SINCE OPENING MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO.

1859 The state grants a charter to the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. The nation's first zoo is born.
1928 Zookeepers rejoice after the first successful birth of an orangutan in a US zoo.
1931 Leo, the MGM lion, retires to the zoo after a 15-year movie career.
1938 The Philadelphia Zoo opens the first dedicated children's zoo in the Western Hemisphere.
1948 Zookeepers introduce carrot juice into the flamingos' diet to help them keep their pink color.
1979 In Rocky II, Rocky proposes to Adrian in front of the Carnivora House, ending his bachelorhood.
2004 The first Hosmer's skinks (a type of lizard) to be born outside Australia are born at the zoo.
2009 The zoo celebrates its 150th birthday, with events planned throughout the year.
Published in Destinations :: Destinations On the Town