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Head Strong: Twitter-delphia

Here's how news events of the past would play on present-day devices.

Woman says ppl knocking on her door 2 a.m. saying they were intelligence agents, took her daughter.

Clashes today confirmed in Jaam Jam and Mellat Park - militia used tear gas - shooting heard.

Rasoul Akram hospital has medics outside, go there for help.

That's how the election protests in Iran looked on Twitter. Short, choppy, and about as unverifiable as it gets, they're the 21st-century incarnation of ticker tape.

They're also important enough that the U.S. State Department asked Twitter to postpone scheduled site maintenance last week because it would have temporarily shut down the tweets flowing from the Middle East. The maintenance was eventually done at 5 p.m. Eastern time, or 1:30 a.m. Iranian time.

More than anything, Twitter provided millions of personal windows, opened via cell phone or computer, to potentially watershed events in Iran. It's not so far-fetched to think that someone, somewhere, is constructing a time line of the historic unrest in increments of 140 characters or less (the maximum length of a so-called tweet).

Which got me thinking: What would a modern history of Philadelphia look like on Twitter?

Maybe something like this:

"On hole rather b in Philly". - W.C. Fields, 2:43 p.m., July 12, 1925

"Steak and onions on roll . . . something missing." - Pat Olivieri, 4:12 p.m., June 12, 1933

"Tried new sign-off 2nite . . . have a nice nite 2nite & good day 2moro . . . not sure how it played." - John Facenda, 7:42 p.m., Feb. 4, 1948

"Just got on plane, goin home, salvaged split with Dodgers, feelin good." - Gene Mauch, 5:37 p.m., Sept. 20, 1964

"Hit Wolman not Santa!" - Ed Rendell, 2:54 p.m., Dec. 15, 1968

"Grabbing a sandwich at Boots w Huff . . . little guy and young girl are back . . . think they got a thing goin on."

- Kenny Gamble, 1:21 p.m., July 2, 1972

"Leaving in hurry, sweating thru my tux . . . no place to keep nightstick." - Frank Rizzo, 1:04 a.m., June 12, 1969

"Nobody can replace the dean, but ive got high hopes I can do the job." - Harry Kalas, 7:34 p.m., March 26, 1971

"Ali goes down round 9 . . . don't know who wepner is, but i like him." - Sylvester Stallone, 9:54 p.m., March 24, 1975

"Only Gd saves more than bernie." - Fred Shero, 8:43 p.m., May 27, 1975

"Really hoping manfred covers blinded by light . . . not sure how many more nights i can stand bruce sleeping on couch."

- Ed Sciaky, 11:23 p.m., June 15, 1976

"They found what they found . . . i got framed and soon everyone will kno it . . . tout arrive en France."

- Ira Einhorn, 9:43 a.m., March 29, 1979

"Didnt kno mo could dunk til 2nite." - Julius Erving, 9:02 p.m., May 31, 1983

"I told leo brooks c u at 4, not c4!" - W. Wilson Goode, 5:42 p.m., May 13, 1985

"Tina needs new dressmaker . . . hope tv stations dont mind wardrobe malfunction or 2." - Mick Jagger, 3:30 a.m., July 14, 1985

"Somebody had to do it." - Willard Rouse, 11:21 a.m., Nov. 2, 1987

"Fast Eddie, toss one at jimmy johnsons rug." - Buddy Ryan, 4:54 p.m., Dec. 10, 1989

"Mitch took the loss in game 4 but hes been our guy all season. goin with him again 2nite." - Jim Fregosi, 11:03 p.m., Oct. 23, 1993.

"Unless Katz already wiring this place for stereo, ive got problems." - John Street, 9:32 a.m., Oct. 7, 2003

"Nice day 2day, bout 2 go hoop & work out, not gonna b the 1 getting tired in superbowl . . . why are all those reporters n my driveway?"

- Terrell Owens, 11:32 a.m., Aug. 10, 2005

"I see our chemistry and our attitude, our makeup and how much we like to play, and how much the Philadelphia fans backed us."

- Charlie Manuel, 9:28 p.m. Oct. 29, 2008


Michael Smerconish's column appears Thursdays in the Daily News and Sundays in Currents. He can be heard from 5 to 9 a.m. weekdays on "The Big Talker," WPHT-AM (1210). Contact him via www.smerconish.com.

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