Image: Wiki Commons by Renelibrary
About This Quiz
Texas is the only state in the United States that was once its own country. When it won independence from Mexico in 1836 it declared itself the Republic of Texas. The United States officially recognized the Republic of Texas as a sovereign country, which it remained until 1845, when it joined the United States.
While you don’t need a passport to enter the state, stepping foot in Texas can often feel like a different country. Texan pride has a distinct tone of patriotism to it — the love for one’s country. Texans have a distinct sense of independence and fierce dedication to what it means to be Texans — even if that has a different meaning depending on whom you ask.
To some, being Texan means staying true to the independent grit that led Texas to win the land from Mexico in the Texas War for Independence. For others, though, it means an open understanding that the land that we now call Texas was once part of Mexico and still holds that cultural memory.
However, Texas history is just the beginning of what a Texas-sized Texas IQ must hold. Texan landscapes hold a country’s worth of landforms, and Texan culture requires a lifetime to master. How much mastery do you have of the Lone Star State? Take this quiz to find out how big of a hat you need to fit your IQ into!
Orchestrated the attack
Commanded volunteer forces
Jim Bowie stands out in American folklore as a rugged frontiersman and pioneer. His legend culminates in his death at the Alamo, where he led the volunteer army until he was bedridden by illness and ultimately died defending the fort.
Led the cavalry
Led the escape
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Davy Crockett
Jim Bowie
Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston
If you read the intro to this quiz, you’d know that Sam Houston served as the first president of the Republic of Texas. He also served a second term as the third president of the Republic.
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Homeland Security
The Police
The Drug Enforcement Agency
The Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangers claim the title of the oldest law enforcement agency in the country. Founded in 1823 by Stephen F. Austin, the Rangers originally helped to protect settlers in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence.
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Austin
San Antonio
While people often associate Austin with the Mexican freetail bat colony there, a larger colony actually exists about 20 miles outside San Antonio, in Bracken Cave. With 15 million bats calling it home over the summer, the colony is the largest in the world.
El Paso
Corpus Christi
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Crape myrtle
While crape myrtles dominate suburban Texan landscapes, the tree is not native to Texas, but China and Korea. Some may think that the persimmon is only found in the Midwest, but Texas has its own variety, the Texas persimmon, which has a dark brown, edible fruit.
Persimmon
Bald cypress
Cedar elm
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Houston
Austin
Dallas
None of the above
Sam Houston, the famed first president of the Republic of Texas, was actually not born in Texas, but in Virginia. Houston moved to Texas in 1832, where he led a small army against Mexican forces.
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Waylon Jennings
Merle Haggard
Kris Kristofferson
All of the above
Willie Nelson, a Texas country icon, goes hand in hand with all of the above names because they all played together in an epic band called the Highwaymen. The group played music that became known as outlaw country.
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Phoenix
El Paso
Tom Lea captured the vast and solitary open spaces of the southwest in his landscape paintings. While he traveled the world widely and worked as a correspondent as well as a painter, he always returned to El Paso as his home.
Marfa
Dallas
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There are more of them in Texas than any other state.
There are six of them in Texas.
They only are in Texas.
The name comes from the six flags flown over Texas.
The amusement park Six Flags gets its name from the six flags that have flown over Texas in the course of its history. The United States, the Republic of Texas, France, Mexico, Spain and the Confederacy.
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Endure a hot meal without air-conditioning
Not get to use a restroom
Enjoy the best pulled pork in Texas
Wait in line at least four hours
The famed Franklin BBQ in Austin purportedly has the best smoked brisket to be found anywhere. This reputation creates quite a production for those who want to try it out for themselves. The doors don’t open until 11 a.m., but the line begins forming at 7 a.m., so expect about a four-hour wait.
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Dallas
The Texas State Fair takes place annually in Dallas at Fair Park. Since 1886, the fair has delighted Texans and visitors with rides and unique fried items. Only during the First and Second World War has the fair taken a break.
Houston
Austin
Amarillo
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Take a picture
Run away
Shoot him
All of the above
Some states, like Oregon, have officially banned shooting Bigfoot once he is sighted. In Texas, however, no laws exist that would prevent a hunter from shooting the mysterious creature.
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Atacama
Paranal
Mauna Kea
McDonald
McDonald Observatory, located in the Davis Mountains in West Texas, monitors planetary and stellar motion, in close contact with the University of Texas at Austin. The observatory sits atop Mt. Locke, which is the highest point accessible by Texas highways.
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Ann Richards
Lady Bird Johnson
Jane Long
Jane Long moved to Texas from Mississippi at the beginning of the 19th century. When her husband went off to fight the War of Independence from Spain, she held down the house. Eventually, she moved alone to Brazoria and hosted a boarding house which housed William Barrett Travis and Stephen F. Austin.
Sissy Spacek
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Apple
Cherry
Oak
Texas-style BBQ most commonly refers to Central Texas BBQ, and in Central Texas, oak trees dominate the landscape. The ubiquitous trees create a perfect aroma and deep flavor that seeps deep within a brisket.
Hickory
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Mule deer
Mule deer are very common in Texas and primarily thrive in the High Plains and the Trans-Pecos regions of West Texas. They live in a wide range of habitats from river bottoms to desert shrubs.
Red deer
Reindeer
Roe deer
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Ragweed runaway
Cedar fever
In the months of January-March in Central Texas, the allergy epidemic known as cedar fever hits Central Texas. The allergy to the Ashe juniper, also known as cedar, does not cause an actual fever, but incessant sneezing and haziness that feels like one.
Frost weed fever
Hay fever
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Feel like a Texan in my heart
Native American born in Texas
Intend to stay in Texas
Born in Texas, never leaving Texas
The phrase “Native Texan,” in Texas, means not only that you were born in Texas but that you will not leave Texas. Texas is in your blood through and through, and there’s nothing that would pull you away.
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Davy Crockett
Davy Crockett uttered these famous and perfectly Texan words, not because he was a Native Texan, but because he lost his bid to serve in the US Congress on behalf of Tennessee. Crockett may have been born in Tennessee, but he died at the Alamo, and it doesn’t get more Texan than that.
Daniel Boone
Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston
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Independent
Crazy
Texas Monthly reported finding out over the depths of the internet that, in Norwegian slang, Texas means “crazy” or “wild.” In context, they might describe reckless drivers as being “totally Texas.”
Proud
Friendly
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Texans are all mavericks.
Texas is a maverick in the United States.
The first president of Texas was Maverick Houston.
The name comes from an unruly Texan, Sam Maverick.
Sam Maverick lived in San Antonio in the 19th century. The Mavericks had cattle, but they roamed unbranded, so whenever cowboys found an unbranded cow, they would call it a Maverick. Now the term has come to mean someone who breaks rules.
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The meat needs to have plenty of time to soak in the smoke.
The myoglobin needs to gather at the edges of the meat.
It doesn’t actually need to take that long.
The collagen needs time to render so the meat will be tender.
Brisket smoking takes a notoriously long time to do. The collagen in this tough meat breaks down at around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and the meat will be more tender if this happens slowly.
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Jackalope
Black-tailed jackrabbit
Rabbits are not as common in Texas as in other parts of the country, where they persistently nibble lettuce in one’s garden. The black-tailed jackrabbit, though, is native to Texas, where it prefers deserts and grasslands.
American rabbit
Rex rabbit
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San Marcos River
Texas wild rice is native to the state and only grows in the San Marcos River in Central Texas. The species is endangered due to loss of habitat and federally listed as endangered, though there are ardent efforts to preserve it.
Rio Grande
Pecos River
Colorado River
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Boreray
British milk sheep
Charmoise
Bighorn
Bighorn sheep were native to Texas, but they died out by 1960. Recently, efforts have been made to reintroduce this species to select areas in West Texas. Now a herd of over 1,500 ranges the land.
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"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
"The Road Goes on Forever"
Born in Houston, Robert Earl Keen’s twangy, string-heavy country music has a distinctive Texas flavor. “The Road Goes on Forever” is one of Keen’s most popular songs. The artist wrote a memoir with the same title, which tells stories behind some of his songs.
"Jolene"
"Killin‘ Time"
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Neil Young
Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin doesn’t seem at first to be the quintessential Texas singer, but she was born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas, and played a circuit of clubs in Austin before moving out west to San Francisco.
Jimmy Hendrix
Paul Simon
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A herd of bison enlisted to assist the army
A group of soldiers brought in from Alabama
Black troops added to the Army
The term Buffalo Soldiers refers to six regiments of black troops who were added to the US Army in 1866, after the end of the Civil War. Native Americans gave them the name as a form of honor, connecting them with the revered buffalo.
Native American troops added to the Army
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She taught and painted in Canyon, Texas.
While she was born in Wisconsin and died in Santa Fe, Georgia O’Keefe was heavily influenced by Texas landscapes. She spent a period of her life teaching in Canyon and composed at least 50 paintings there.
She grew up in El Paso, Texas.
She died in Amarillo, Texas.
She only painted Texas landscapes.
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It was the largest hurricane to make landfall in the United States.
It was the deadliest natural disaster in United States history.
The 1900 Galveston Hurricane claims the notorious title of the most deadly natural disaster in United States history. When the Category 4 hurricane struck, it killed over 8,000 people and caused immense property damage.
It created the largest tsunami to hit the United States.
More books have been written about it than any other disaster.
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Pine forests
Deserts
Maple groves
All of the above
Guadalupe Peak, at 8751 ft, is the highest point in Texas, nestled in the Guadalupe Mountains. The landscape around the peak changes drastically with each curve of the trail, shifting quickly from desert to maple groves to pine forests.
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The Highway Beautification Act
Lady Bird Johnson expanded the role of first lady while her husband was in office. She pioneered the Highway Beautification Act, creating a system to enhance the beauty of America’s roadways, removing trash and adding scenic beauty, like wildflowers, to the road system.
The Food Stamp Act
Title IX
Nutrition for All
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Monahans Peak
Monahans Sandhills
Monahans Sandhills State Park, on the outskirts of Monahans, Texas, stands out as an ocean of sand rolling in tan dunes. Nature lovers flock to the site to play in the sand, sliding down on disks, riding horseback or simply having a picnic and staring out at the open space.
Monahans Canyon
Monahans Swampland
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Football
Badminton
Rodeo
The 75th Texas Legislature officially declared rodeo to be the official sport of Texas in 1997. George H. W. Bush signed the resolution into law. Rodeo traditions hearken back to the cowboy pastime that shaped the state and continues in the present.
Soccer
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Folk
Mariachi
Tejano
Selena popularized Tejano music in the United States, crossing the boundaries between Tejano and pop and bringing the traditional style of music to a new generation. She was murdered at the top of her career.
Texas country
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