25 things not about me

there seems to be a new little trend on the internet. people are making lists with 25 things about themselves everywhere i turn.

i decided to put my own twist on this trend.

it is with great pleasure that i bring you...

25 Facts About Texas

1. have you ever heard that phrase "Don't Mess With Texas"? it's awesome, right? it's actually a littering campaign that spun wildly out of control. people came up with it to keep Texas litter free, but over time it has come to mean so much more to me and my people.

2. the king ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of rhode island. (i don't know why, but i feel like saying...and so is your mom. apparently, it's 1995 today).

3. Texas is the only state to enter the united states by treaty instead of territorial annexation. what this means is no one can take us by force.

4. Texas was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.

5. Austin is considered the live music capital of the world. the world. this is a fact. it's based on the number of live music venues.

6. there is no period after the Dr in Dr Pepper. i did not know this until just now.

7. the first suspension bridge in the united states was the waco bridge. it was built in 1870 and still in use today. what innovation!

8. the capitol dome in Austin stands seven feet higher than the nation's capitol dome in D.C.

9. Texas comes from an indian word tejas meaning friends or allies. this is how you should interpret this information: texans are the friendliest people in the world.

10. the first word spoken on the moon was "Houston."

11. Texas includes 7.4% of the nation's total area.

12. the heisman trophy is named for John William Heisman, the first full-time coach and athletic director at rice university in Houston.

13. Texas is the only state allowed to fly its flag at the same height as the nation's flag. it was part of the annexation treaty...brilliant!

14. the lightning whelk is the official state shell.

15. Texas is the only state to have the flags of 6 different nations fly over it. they are: spain, france, mexico, Republic of Texas, confederate states, and the united states.

16. "The phrase 'everything is bigger in Texas' derives in part from the state's geographic sprawl and the wide open spaces of its desert and prairie regions." - wikipedia. you see, it's not our ego. it's fact.

17. "Historically and culturally, Texas is usually considered part of the American South. However, with its Spanish and Mexican roots it can also be classified as part of the American Southwest. While residents acknowledge these categories, many claim an independent "Texan" identity superseding regional labels." - wikipedia. i think we can all agree that this is also fact. whether you like how we label ourselves or not, we do have our own identity.

18. "On November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated president John F. Kennedy. The Texas Governor, John B. Connally, was also critically injured in the incident but survived. On Air Force One at Dallas's Love Field Airport, Kennedy's vice president, the Texan Lyndon Baines Johnson, swore in as the next president." - wikipedia.

19. Texas has a plural executive branch system which limits the power of the governor. except for the secretary of state, voters elect executive officers independently making candidates directly answerable to the public, not the governor.

20. el paso is closer to california than it is to dallas. because Texas is so big.

21. the capitol building is made with pink granite. i'm pretty sure you can only use it in Texas.

22. in Texas, it is illegal to put graffiti on someone else's cow. that's just common decency, folks.

23. according to newspaper accounts, the first powered airplane was flown in Texas nearly forty years before the wright brothers version in 1903. inventor-pilot jacob brodbeck powered the plane with coil springs and reached treetop heights before crashing into a henhouse killing several chickens and scaring many children in 1865.

24. Davy Crockett had another distinction in Texas, besides dying at the alamo. he also served three terms as a congressman in tennessee. before leaving he informed his peers, "You all can go to hell. I am going to Texas."

25. the state song is "Texas, Our Texas."

Texas, Our Texas! all hail the mighty State!
Texas, Our Texas! so wonderful so great!
Boldest and grandest, withstanding ev'ry test
O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest.

Texas, O Texas! your freeborn single star,
Sends out its radiance to nations near and far,
Emblem of Freedom! it set our hearts aglow,
With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious Alamo.

Texas, dear Texas! from tyrant grip now free,
Shines forth in splendor, your star of destiny!
Mother of heroes, we come your children true,
Proclaiming our allegiance, our faith, our love for you.

God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.
God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.


information for this list was found in my mind, and also here and here.