Texas is popularly known as The Lone Star State.

The name "Texas" comes from the Hasinai Indian word tejas meaning friends or allies.

The lightning whelk is the official state shell.

The armadillo is the official state mammal. 

Texas is the only state to have had the flags of 6 different nations fly over it. They are: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and the United States.   

The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island! 

More wool comes from the state of Texas than any other state in the United States.  

Edwards Plateau in west central Texas is the top sheep growing area in the country.  

Texas is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation.  

Texas was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.  

Texas boasts the nation's largest herd of whitetail deer.    

The Hertzberg Circus Museum in San Antonio contains one of the largest assortments of circus items in the world.  

The capital of Texas is Austin.

Austin is considered the live music capital of the world.  

Professional sports teams in Texas include the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Houston Astros, Houston Comets, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Texas Rangers.  

Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, Texas  in 1885.

The first suspension bridge in the United States was the Waco Bridge, built in 1870.

Texas has the first domed stadium in the country. The structure was built in Houston and opened in April 1965.  

The Houston Comets are the only team in the country to win four back-to-back WNBA championships.   

The worst natural disaster in United States history was caused by a hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. Over 8000 deaths were recorded.  

The first word spoken from the moon on July 20, 1969 was "Houston".  

Texas' largest county is Brewster with 6,208 square miles.  

Texas possesses three of the top ten most populous cities in the United States. These towns are Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.  

Texas is so large that El Paso is closer to Needles, California than it is to Dallas.

Texas includes 267,339 square miles, or 7.4% of the nation's total area.

More land is farmed in Texas than in any other state.  

More species of bats live in Texas than in any other part of the United States.  

Laredo is the world's largest inland port.  

Port Lavaca has the world's longest fishing pier.

The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the world's largest rose garden.

Amarillo has the world's largest helium well.  

The world's first rodeo was held in Pecos on July 4, 1883.  

The Heisman trophy is named for John William Heisman the first full-time coach and athletic director at Rice University in Houston.  

Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other comparable area in North America.  

The Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America's only remaining flock of whooping cranes.