3 Things You Didn’t Know Were From Syracuse, NY

The dentist chair, lacrosse, the serrated knife, and traffic lights all originated in Syracuse, NY. Here are 5 more things that got their start in the Salt City. 

Syracuse, NY deserves the credit for putting an end to the chaos on the roadways by inventing the first traffic light. They also gained notoriety by introducing us to the dreaded dentist chair. Here are 5 more things that were born in Syracuse.

1. Walt Disney's "Dumbo the Flying Elephant."     Helen Aberson Mayer was a radio talk show host and an honorary graduate from Syracuse University.

She is also credited for authoring the popular children's classic "Dumbo.' Here's where she got her inspiration for the book according to the NY Times:

She just got an inspiration about a flying elephant.'' She liked to create animal characters and plotting that represented, to a degree, people she knew or situations she had been in.

2. Aunt Jemima.  Anna Harrington was discovered at the state fair by the oatmeal company, Quaker Oats. She cooked up pancakes for frat boys at SU and earned enough money to buy a home with 22 rooms.

According to Buzzfeed:

She made good money, bought a large house and rented rooms and would make pancakes for breakfast 3 times a week! The house was demolished for the coming of interstate 81.

3. Salt Potatoes. It's no wonder that salt potatoes originated in the "Salt City." Salt potatoes happen to be my favorite type of spuds because they're downright delicious. I know these aren't salt potatoes, but you get the picture.

I like 'em hot and I'll even eat them cold. According to the NY Times:

They got  their start in the late 1800s, when salt was distilled by boiling water from marshes around Syracuse, N.Y. Workers, many of them Irish, would dump potatoes in the boiling vats and then have lunch.

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