Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"Courtesy, Service, Protection" is the motto of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The DPS website states that the DPS was created in 1935, but the motto is cited in print being used…
The Alamo is the popular national landmark in San Antonio. San Antonio itself was called "the Alamo City" by the mid-1800s. In the 1880s, "Alamo City" showed up in book titles.…
The "hot dog" has had many variations, so it was inevitable that Chinese cuisine would come up with a variation. Various recipes appeared in the 1960s (see below), usually with small hot…
BookPeople is an independently owned bookstore that opened in Austin in 1970. BookPeople claims to be the largest bookstore in Texas, but takes pride in serving the community. "A community…
The comal (or comalli) is a flat dish or griddle that is popularly used for making tortillas and other foods in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines. Comal County in Texas is named after this flat dish.…
The city of Pasadena (near Houston, from a Chippewa Indian word meaning "Crown of the Valley") was a small, strawberry-growing community until the 1920s, when petrochemical plants began…
"Food for the Gods" is not to be confused with ambrosia ("Food of the Gods"). made of fruits and coconut layers. Foor for the Gods contains dates, walnuts, and cracker crumbs.…
Georgetown is a suburb north of the city of Austin, but it's not nearly as quirky as the capital city is. "Keep Georgetown Normal" is a 2005 imitation/parody of the popular slogan…
Round Rock is a growing suburb of the city of Austin, but it's not nearly as quirky as the capital city is. "Keep Round Rock Mildly Unusual" is a 2006 imitation/parody of the popular…
The Chiriqui province on the western coast of Panama has an agricultural economy. Bananas and coffee are grown in Chiriqui, and there are many cattle farms and horse ranches. Chiriqui has been…
Camagüey province is a large province in Cuba, with an agricultural economy of primarily cattle and sugar farming. The province is known for its cowboy culture and has been called "the Texas…
The state of Zulia in northwest Venezuela has oil, cattle, and mostly conservative politics and has been called the "Texas of Venezuela." The nickname comes from a news story in the April…
Guanacaste province in northwest Costa Rica is known for its cattle ranches and its cowboys. Guanacaste has been called the "cattle province" and "Texas of Costa Rica" since at…
Vryburg (in the North West province of South Africa) is South Africa's largest cattle-farming area and is often called the "Texas of South Africa." The landscape is similar to West…
Rio Grande do Sul ("Great River of the South") is the southernmost state of Brazil. Like Texas, there is a large cattle-growing industry and there are gauchos (similar to the cowboys of…
The "Silver Alert" was signed into Texas law in 2007 to protect elderly people with dementia-related diseases (such as Alzheimer's) who wander away from their usual residences. The…
China's Szechuan province (also spelled "Sichuan" or "Szechwan") has been called the "Texas of China" since at least the 1890s. The province is large, has an…
Ambrosia (Greek for "not mortal") is the food of the immortals or "food of the gods." Ambrosia is also the name for a Southern dish that resembles a fruit cup. The origins of…
"We own the night" was the unofficial motto of the New York Police Department's Street Crimes Unit in the 1990s. The unit was disbanded in 2002. The phrase "We own the…
Bavaria is the geographically largest state in Germany, and it has an independent spirit. Although Bavaria's climate differs from that of Texas, Bavaria has been called the "Texas of…