Montezuma’s Revenge or Moctezuma’s Revenge (traveler’s diarrhea)
"Montezuma's Revenge" and "Aztec two-step" and "turista" are the colorful names for traveler's diarrhea for visitors to Mexico. The terms have spread…
Archive for 12/2006
Tequila Sunrise (cocktail)
It's not clear where or when the Tequila Sunrise cocktail first saw light of day, but it does date to at least 1940 -- earlier than the Margarita. Wikipedia: Tequila Sunrise (cocktail)The…
Tequila Mockingbird (cocktail)
Ever since Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a drink named "Tequila Mockingbird" was bound to happen somehow. Drinks by that name date from the 1960s; the only thing in…
South of the Border Cider
South of the Border Cider contains apple cider and tequila. The drink is on Central Market's website and Emeril's website and is mentioned in a 1990 book, but doesn't appear in too…
Tequila Shrimp (Margarita Shrimp Skewers)
Tequila Shrimp (or Mexican Margarita Shrimp Skewers) sounds perfectly Texan. What could be better than tequila added to shrimp from the Gulf? The dish "Tequila Shrimp" dates from 1970s…
Glory Road
"Glory Road" is the title of a 1996 film, based on the book of the same name by former Texas Western (now the University of Texas at El Paso, or UTEP) basketball coach Don Haskins. The…
Sloppy Nachos & Sloppy Joes
Nachos are a well-known snack, but what are Sloppy Nachos? "Sloppy Joe" was the name of a famous bar in Havana, Cuba in the 1920s. After Prohibition ended in the United States, the bar…
Barbecue Sauce & Steak Sauce
No one knows when the first sauce was applied to barbecued meats. The first advertisement for commercially made barbecue sauce appears to be for Georgia Barbecue Sauce in 1909. "A1…
“Hello, sucker!” & “Give this little girl a big hand!” (Texas Guinan)
"Texas" Guinan was born in Waco, Texas and made a name for herself as a New York City night club owner during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. She is known today for either originating…
Dinosaur Capital of Texas (Glen Rose nickname)
Dinosaurs long ago left tracks in what would become the town of Glen Rose, Texas. A Dinosaur Valley State Park is located in Glen Rose, and in 1997 the Texas legislature officially made the city…
Volunteer Capital of Texas (Comal County nickname)
Comal County (northeast of San Antonio) held a VolunteerFest 1997, and in 1997 the Texas legislature declared the county the "Volunteer Capital of Texas." The nickname quickly died, but…
Sunflower Capital of Texas & Crossroads of Texas (Hearne nickname)
Hearne bills itself as the "Crossroads of Texas," in the middle of a triangle formed by Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Hearne used to be a commercial producer of sunflowers,…
Pump Jack Capital of Texas (Electra nickname)
Electra in north Texas has about 5,000 oil pumps within a ten-mile radius. In 2001, the Texas lesiglature declared Electra to be the "Pump Jack Capital of Texas." Electra has more pump…
Texas Horned Lizard Capital of the World (Kenedy nickname)
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…
Spur Capital of Texas (Gatesville nickname)
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
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 do not shoot the piano player. He is doing his best”
"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…
“Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again” (property sign)
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…
Gobbledygook (Maury Maverick WWII term)
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…
“The cows are giving evaporated milk” (Texas heat joke)
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…