Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
Kenedy used to be the flax capital of Texas. In 2001, however, the Texas legislature declared Kenedy to be the Texas Horned Lizard Capital of the World. The horned lizard has been protected since…
Gatesville in central Texas was named the "Spur Capital of Texas" by the Texas Legislature in 2001. The largest spur collection in the world is found in Gatesville's Coryell Museum…
Jalapeño jelly is a good use of the official state pepper of Texas, the jalapeño. Hundreds of websites state: "Jalapeno pepper jelly originated in Lake Jackson and was first marketed in…
"Please don't shoot the piano player. He is doing his best" was a sign in western saloons and churches from the 1870s. The sign was cited in publications from February 1879 and…
The usual sign is: "Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be prosecuted." The humorous take on that sign is: "Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again." The…
World War II produced lots of bad bureaucrat-ese language in official memos. Maury Maverick (a former Texas Congressman and then chairman of the Smaller War Plants Corporation) was so frustrated…
How hot is it in Texas? It's so hot that "the cows are giving evaporated milk." This "evaporated milk" joke (and many others like it) has been on the internet since at…
How hot is it in Texas? So hot that "you realize that asphalt has a liquid state." That joke (among many others) has been circulating around the internet since at least 1998. Stanford…
"Rat cheer" is (supposedly) how people in the South say "right here." The joke pronunciation dates from at least the early 1960s. Urban Dictionarycheer Southern U.S. slang for…
Alambres (Spanish for "wires" or "skewers") is a dish that's sometimes called "Mexican Shish Kebab." It's served in fancier Tex-Mex restaurants. Iguana Grill…
Chili hot dogs (or "chili dogs" or "chilidogs") and chili hamburgers (or "chili burgers" or "chiliburgers") continue to be popular. No one knows exactly…
Chile con queso (or chili con queso) is a simple Tex-Mex dish of chili and cheese. President Lyndon B. Johnson published a favorite recipe in 1964. Wikipedia: Chile con quesoChili con queso (also…
Texas Twist (also called Texas Tornado or Country Boy) is an involved three-card monte scam that's appeared in Texas and other western states. Scoundrels' GlossaryTexas Tornado. A…
Breckenridge was named the "Mural Capital of Texas" by the Texas legislature in 2001. Murals were painted around the town by Billy Ines, based on historic town photos. ePodunk:…
Confederate Heroes Day is celebrated every January 19th (General Robert E. Lee's birthday). This may or may not be the same day as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is celebrated on the third…
The Texas Red Grapefruit is the official state fruit of Texas, pronounced by the Texas legislature in 1993. A few years later, the Texas legislature would name the city of Weslaco the Citrus…
Germans have given much to Texas, and the strudel pastry is one such food. In 2003, the Texas legislature declared the strudel and the sopaipilla to both be official state pastries (with the law…
The sopaipilla (or "sopapilla") was declared in 2003 (with the law expiring in 2005) the official state pastry of Texas, along with the strudel. Yes, there are two official state…
The tamal (or tamale) is an ancient (pre-Columbian) Mexican food that's popular throughout the southwestern United States. Texas Tamale CompanyTexas Tamale Seasonal SpecialsChristmas Tamale…
"Gringo" is a term used for when an American goes to Mexico. There's a myth that the term comes from the Mexican-American War in the 1840s, when soldiers were singing "Green…