A little bit more TEXAS knowledge
Most of you probably don't realize that Texas
is still a Republic...It is The Republic of Texas
Beaumont to El Paso: 742 miles
Beaumont to Chicago: 770 miles (wow!)
World's first rodeo was in Pecos... July 4, 1883.
The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the only
hotel in North America built over water.
The Heisman Trophy was named after John
William Heisman who was the first full time
coach for Rice University, Houston.
Brazoria County has more species of birds
than any other area in North America. Aransas
Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North
America's only remaining flock of whooping
cranes.
Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson in 1978.
The worst natural disaster in U.S. history was
in 1900 caused by a hurricane in which over
8000 lives were lost on Galveston Island.
The first word spoken from the moon, July 20,
1969, was "Houston."
El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas.
Laredo is the world's largest inland port.
Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the world's
largest rose garden with over 38,000 bushes
with 500 varieties on 22 acres.
The State shell is Lightning Whelk.
The King Ranch is larger than Rhode Island.
Tropical Storm Claudette brought a U.S. rainfall
record of 43" in 24 hours in and around South
Houston and Alvin in July 1979.
Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by
TREATY, instead of by annexation. (This allows
the Texas flag to fly at the same height as the
US flag.)
A Live Oak tree near Fulton is estimated to
be 1500 years old.
Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state.
Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. There
is no period after Dr in Dr Pepper.
Texas has had six capital cities ..
1. Washington-on-the-Brazos
2. Harrisburg
3. Galveston
4. Velasco
5. West Columbia
6. Austin
The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only dome
in the U.S. which is taller than the Capitol
Building in Washington D.C. (by 7 feet).
The name Texas comes from the Hasini
Indian word "tejas" meaning friends.
Tejas is not Mexican for Texas.
The State animal is the Armadillo.
*An interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo
is they always have four babies! They have one
egg which splits into four and they either have
four males or four females. Well... I thought it
was interesting anyway...
The first domed stadium in the U.S. was the
Astrodome in Houston.