Texas looms large in the American imagination, and many of the stories about it are true. But a few of the most interesting facts get garbled in the retelling. Here are twelve that hold up.
1. It really was an independent country
From 1836 to 1845, the Republic of Texas was a sovereign nation with its own president, currency and foreign embassies, before joining the United States. That history is why Texas is nicknamed the “Lone Star State.”
2. It is bigger than many countries
At about 268,000 square miles, Texas is larger than France. El Paso, in the far west, is closer to San Diego, California than to Beaumont on the state’s eastern edge.
3. The state dish is chili
Texas named chili con carne its official state dish in 1977. Traditional Texas “bowls of red” famously contain no beans — a point locals will happily debate.
4. It has its own power grid
Most of Texas runs on an independent electrical grid managed by ERCOT, largely separate from the rest of the country.
5. Six flags have flown over it
Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and the United States have all claimed the territory — the origin of the “Six Flags” name.
6. The capital is named after a Texas founder
Austin is named for Stephen F. Austin, often called the “Father of Texas” for leading the first organized American settlements.
7. It produces a huge share of the nation’s oil and wind
Texas leads the United States in crude oil production — and, less famously, also leads in wind power generation, by a wide margin.
8. Dr Pepper was invented here
The soft drink was first served in Waco in 1885, making it older than Coca-Cola.
9. The “national speed limit” was once highest here
A stretch of toll road between Austin and San Antonio has carried an 85 mph speed limit, among the highest posted limits in the country.
10. Bats are a tourist attraction
Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge hosts the largest urban bat colony in North America; crowds gather at dusk in summer to watch more than a million bats stream out.
11. NASA’s Mission Control is in Houston
That is why the first word spoken from the Moon’s surface was “Houston.” The Johnson Space Center remains a hub of human spaceflight.
12. It has a state-sized appetite for high school football
Friday-night high school football is a genuine cultural institution, with some stadiums seating well over 10,000 fans.
Texas is large enough that almost any generalization about it has an exception somewhere within its borders — which may be the most Texan fact of all.