Facts About Texas That Will Surprise You

Known as the Lone Star State, Texas is the second largest (both by size and population) and also the fastest growing state in the United States of America.

Located in the South Central Region of the USA, Texas is essentially popular for being home to the best barbecue in the world, crude oil, cowboys and guns. However, there are several interesting things about Texas that most of us would be surprised to know.

No country in Western Europe is as big as the State of Texas.

Texas is home to the three of the ten largest cities in the USA, namely Dallas (#9), San Antonio (#7) and Houston (#4).

A 140 mile stretch between San Antonio and Austin has a speed limit of 85 mph, the highest in the country.

Tex-Mex (chili) is the official state dish. The official dessert is pecan pie, while the official state snack of Texas is chips and salsa.

Several fossils of dinosaurs were found in Texas, and the state also has an official dinosaur, the Paluxysaurus Jonesi.

All the public land in Texas is owned by the state government of Texas, and the central government needs to take permission to build anything on Texas land.

Texas is home to one of the smallest towns in the USA, Guerra, with a population of 6 people.

Two of USA's Presidents are from Texas: Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Baines Johnson.

The Six Flags Over Texas amusement park was first built in Arlington, Texas, and the name reflects the history of the state. The Six Flags represent the six countries that ruled Texas over the years (Spain, France, Mexico, Confederate States of America, the Republic of Texas and the United States of America.

The Texas State Capitol is taller than the US Capitol in Washington D.C, by 15 feet.

Texas was an independent country for almost 10 years, from 1836 to 1846.

Texas has its own independent power grid, one of the three power grids in the USA.

Austin, the capital city of US, is known as the Live Music Capital of the World, as it has the most number of live music venues in the country.

Texas means friends or allies, which is derived from the language of the native people (Hasini Indian) of Texas. The motto of the state today is Friendship.

One of the most popular soft drinks in the USA, Dr. Pepper, originated in Texas.

Texas has a town named Earth, the only place on earth that has this name. You would also find towns named Athens, London, Paris, Florence, Naples and Dublin here.

Texas has the largest bat colony in the world at San Antonio's Bracken Cave, which houses more than 20 million bats.

Texas is also home to the world’s largest urban colony of bats at the South Congress Avenue of Bridge in Austin. It is believed that the place has more than 1.5 million bats.

It is believed that the hamburger was found in the town of Athens in Texas.

The largest Ferris wheel in the USA is located in the State Fair of Texas. The state fair began in 1886 and is said to be the largest as well as the longest running state fair in the USA.

The King Ranch located in South Texas measures 1289 square miles, which is larger than the state of Rhode Island, which measures 1212 square miles.

A town named Clark renamed itself as DISH in 2005 as a part of a deal with DISH Network, which entitled every resident of the town to receive free basic television service for 10 years along with a free digital video recorder.

Texas faced the deadliest natural disaster in the United States of America. In 1900. It was a Category 4 Hurricane (the Galveston Hurricane) that killed more than 8000 people.

Texas faces the most number of tornadoes in the USA; 132 tornadoes on an average.

Texas is home to a unique dialect of German, Texas German, which is the result of German immigrants arriving in the town in the mid-19th century. It is spoken in Fredericksburg, Schulenburg, Boerne, Weimar and New Braunfels.

A passbook of an account with $10 deposit has been buried somewhere in Amarillo in 1968 as a time capsule. When it would be opened in 2968, it would be worth $1 quadrillion

Texas has the largest parking lot in the world at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.