Texas Facts

The only place in the world where they make Dr Pepper according to the original formula is in Dublin, Texas.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, one person is killed annually painting stripes on the state's highways and roads.

The caves of Sonora, Texas are the third best in the United States.

In 1964, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson gave out poinsettas as Christmas presents. In 1967, Lyndon gave Lady Bird a yellow wool dress and matching jacket for Christmas.

According to Texas law, in some places, running a bakery is considered to be an "agricultural business."

In the mid 1980s, the employee cafeteria at Motorolla in Austin had to stop serving food that contained poppy seeds because people showed false positives for opium when they were drug tested. Since then, the company reintroduced poppy seeds, and added Valium and several anti-depressants to a list of things not to bother testing for.

Early Spanish missionaries in Texas hoped to encourage the spread of European values by offering flannel underwear to Native Americans.

People who moved to Lockhart, Texas in the 1950s are still considered by natives of the town to be newcomers.

Despite the fact that his middle name is "Farmer," Charles F. Trompler lost in his attempt to be selected as the Republican candidate for state agriculture commissioner in the 1986 Texas primary.

In Texas, it's illegal to put graffiti on someone else's cow.

The Guadalupe River Bass is the state fish of Texas.

In 1964, Austin writer John Morthland became the first person in America to interview the Rolling Stones. John, who was a high school junior in San Bernardino, California interviewed the band when they arrived for the maiden U.S. tour for his school's paper.

According to one geographer, digging straight down from Austin will not get you to China but to Iraq.

Stephen F. Austin and Santa Ana belonged to the same free masonry lodge in Mexico City.

There are stalactites and stalagmites in the breezeway at the University of Texas Law School.

For $150 you can become a licensed dead animal hauler in Texas.

According to one music critic, the person who modeled for the Indian Head Penny is a direct ancestor of Kim Longacre, who sang for the Austin band, The Reivers.

75 percent of the world's Snickers bars are made in Waco at the M&M/Mars plant.

In Texas it's legal for a chicken to have sex with you, but it's illegal to reciprocate.

Will Rogers' father and uncle were boyhood friends of Sam Houston. Their half sister, Will Rogers' aunt, was also Sam Houston's Indian wife.

A nursing home in Texas must comply with the rules and regulation of 15 agencies.

In Texas, you could have been jailed for giving out or discussing information on birth control 50 years ago.

The world's largest oatmeal cake was baked and built in Bertram, Texas during Labor Day weekend 1991. The 33-layer cake stood more than 3 feet tall, weighed 333 pounds, and served 3,333 people.

Dallas' corner of Elm and Houston streets has a sordid history. The building completed there in November 1898 was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in May 1901. By the fall of 1901 it was rebuilt. In that same building 62 years later, Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly shot President Kennedy from the sixth floor.

There are jackrabbits living at Austin's Robert Mueller Airport.

One of the lenses at the University of Texas' McDonald Observatory has a nick in it because a worker there got mad at something and shot at it.

The Wendish community of Giddings, Texas used to verbally inform all domestic animals of a death in the family.

In Odessa, Texas, the star of David and the peace symbol are forbidden by the city's dress code because they are considered to be Satanic symbols.

Former Governor Ann Richards received a vote for "Best Rap Artist" in The Austin Chronicle's 1991 Austin Music Poll.

Austinites might miss the glory that was the Treaty Oak, but Texas has 64 national champion trees, meaning they are the largest specimens of their species in the country. They include cedar elm, persimmon, eastern red cedar, and yaupon holly.

Boston, Texas is completely surrounded by New Boston, Texas.

There's a Texas law that forbids people from carrying around a fence cutter or a pair of pliers that could cut a fence.

In 1937, when the idea of parking meters was first raised in Austin, The Austin American designated one of its staff members "Parking Meter Editor" to tally a poll of its readers.

Fort Creek, Texas was hotter than hell in 1855.

Former Governor Ann Richards' Harley Davidson motorcycle probably will never go faster than 55 miles per hour because it has a governor on it (governor, n.: an automatic attachment to a machine for automatic control or limitation of speed.)

Lubbock is the largest city in the United States that it dry.

There's a ghost on the fifth floor of Austin's Driskill Hotel.

Waco is one of only two cities in the U.S. that has a radio station whose call letters spell out the name of the city.

In Texas, it is illegal to curse in front of or indecently expose a corpse.

"The Eyes of Texas" was originally written for a minstrel show as a satire on Dr. Lambdin Prather, then University of Texas at Austin president.

In Texas, if a burglary occurred in conjunction with a rape, some prosecutors charge rapists with the burglary because it carries the same sentence as aggravated sexual assault (5 to 99 years) and is an easier crime to prove. By the way, regular sexual assault only carries a sentence of 2 to 20 years.

Four fire ant species are found in Texas, three of which are native to the state. The tropical Solenopsis geminata Fabricus and southern Solenopsis xyloni McCook are the most common.

Former Governor Ann Richards' motorcycle has the Texas license plate X47095. It also has Dunlop Elite tires on it.

According to one report, more popcorn is sold in Dallas, Texas than anywhere in the U.S. (The average American eats 42 quarts of popcorn a year.)

The first film made in Texas to have won an Academy Award was Wings in 1927. The film starred Clara Bow and was directed by William Wellman.

According to one inside source, the majority of men who attend meetings at the Austin Men's Center have beards.

Debra Peters (of Austin band Debra Peters and the Love Saints) started on the accordion at age 4 after being convinced by a guy who was selling lessons door-to-door. After two weeks of persistent requests, her mom finally agreed to buy her one.

Forty percent of the farm-grown catfish in the United States is consumed by Texans.

The milk for Blue Bell Ice Cream comes from Corsicana, not Brenham.

Until recently, Bastrop's "home coming" celebrations had nothing to do with high school football; they were held to honor returning World War II veterans.

To be elected in the state of Texas, one must believe in a supreme being.

To combat the deadly killer bee, the Harris County Fire Department has 11 trucks equipped with soapy water sprayers that do nothing but respond to killer bee calls. Currently, the Austin Fire Department will only deal with emergency situations involving killer bee attacks in progress.

Lubbock doesn't have any storm drains.

The written test for University of Texas at Austin campus police in the 1960s asked applicants the shape of their excrement to test their ability to be observant.

Side oats grama is the official state grass of Texas.

In Texas, pharmacists can't be registered members of the Communist Party.

Carl Finch, of Denton's nuclear polka band Brave Combo, led the accordion parade scene in David Byrne's movie True Stories, and says that Byrne is a charter member of the Dallas chapter of the Texas Accordionists Association.

You can buy chicken fried steak at one Chinese restaurant in Fort Stockton, Texas.

According to one of Austin's finest, Montgomery Wards, in general, is a magnet for eating establishments.

The smallest Catholic church in the world still in operation claims to be in Warrenton, Texas. Measuring 12 feet by 15 feet, the church seats 15 and is only open once a year.

The name of Buda, Texas comes from the Spanish word "viuda" or widow because the town's first mayor died in office, and from that point on, anyone who wanted to conduct business in town had to deal with his widow.


Mr. Smarty Pants gets his information from books, magazines, newspapers,
the internet, radio, and television. He also includes facts he has overheard at parties.

All contents--Copyright 2008 Smarty Pants Productions