Here Are 16 Things They Don’t Teach You About Texas In School
Texas is about to get a whole lot more interesting, y’all. You may think you know everything there is to know about our state, but I’m here to challenge that notion. Here are some lesser-known (but just as interesting) facts about Texas that you probably didn’t know before.
1. The ferris wheel at the Texas State Fair in Dallas is the largest in the entire Western hemisphere of the world.
9. Six Flags, the amusement park, gets its name from the fact that six nations (Spain, France, the Confederate States of America, the USA, the Republic of Texas, and Mexico) have flown their flag over Texas at some point.
Everyone considers the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse the end of the war, but Northern and Southern forces fought a month later in the Battle of Palmito Ranch on a coastal prairie east of Brownsville. The Confederates killed or wounded approximately 30 opponents, captured over 100, and forced the rest back to a base near the mouth of the Rio Grande before surrendering their arms shortly afterwards.
12. Texas is so big, it uses its own power grid as opposed to tapping into one of the other two that power the east and west sides of the country.
13. In 1968, a time capsule containing a passbook to a bank account containing $10 was buried in Amarillo. It is expected to reach $1 quadrillion in value by 2968.
Katie Lawrence is a Southeast Texas native who graduated 18th in her high school class with a GPA of 4.25. She attended college in the Houston area and changed her major twice (psychology, computer science, and finally criminal justice) before taking a leap of faith and dropping out to pursue a career in freelance writing.
Today, Katie writes for the Texas and Arizona pages of OnlyInYourState.com and has never been more passionate about a job before. Outside of work, you can likely find her curled up on the sofa with a hot cup of coffee, watching a crime TV show or scary movie.
