An Australian in Texas Quiz | States

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW) sure is busy. In 2011, it was the fourth biggest in the USA and the sixth biggest in the world in terms of passenger movements. Why has DFW been so busy?

Answer: American Airlines have a hub at DFW

Most major American airlines work on a hub and spoke model where routes move to a central major city and then fly to multiple cities from the hub. Dallas/Fort Worth is the biggest hub of America airlines. About 85% of DFW traffic is due to American Airlines, which, after its proposed merger with US Airways will be the largest airline in the world.

Southwest Airlines fly point to point rather than hub and spoke, and they fly to Love Field, the other Dallas airport. Dallas is a large city. The car is the preferred mode of transport. Houston's main airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, was the tenth busiest for total passengers in North America in 2011.

2. The first stop is a city named after the tenth President of the United States. We have driven just over 100 miles east of Dallas and have come at this time of year particularly to see the annual Texas Rose Festival and to visit the Caldwell Zoo. The Texas city we are in is called:

Answer: Tyler

Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas and takes its name from President John Tyler. The city had a population of nearly 100,000 in 2010.
Tyler has the nickname "Rose Capital of the World". It gained this name due to the large quantity of rose bushes processed through the area, along with hosting America's largest rose garden.

3. Changing direction we head west for Lubbock, the birthplace of Buddy Holly. We pass through the largest contiguous expanse of cotton fields in the world, when, after a day's drive we find a diner that serves us a cold Wicked Beaver Beer (Brewed in Lubbock) and the State Food of Texas: chile con carne. We are lucky to find a diner that serves Pedernales River chili. This recipe was a favorite of which favorite Texan (who was born not too far from here)?

Answer: President Lyndon Johnson

Chili con carne (literally, peppers with meat) is a staple of Tex-Mex cuisine. There is debate over whether "authentic" Texas chili contains beans. President Lyndon B. Johnson's favorite chili recipe became known as "Pedernales River chili" after the location of his Texas Hill Country ranch.

It eliminates the traditional beef suet (on Johnson's doctor's orders, after Johnson suffered a heart attack) and adds tomatoes and onions (and notably, no beans!). Johnson preferred venison to beef, as Hill Country deer are leaner than most beef. Lady Bird Johnson, the former First Lady, had the recipe printed on cards to be mailed out because of the many thousands of requests the White House received for it.

4. Heading southwest, cutting across the southeast corner of New Mexico, we pay quick visits to the Carlsbad Cavern (New Mexico) and Guadalupe Mountains (Texas) National Parks, and we arrive at El Paso in the far west of Texas. Which one of the following options about the location of El Paso is true?

Answer: El Paso is closer to four state capitals (USA & Mexico) than it is to Austin

El Paso is situated at the western point of Texas on the Rio Grande River. On the other side of the river is Ju�rez, a Mexican city much bigger than El Paso. El Paso is closer to other capitals such as Phoenix (Arizona), Santa Fe (New Mexico) and Chihuahua (Chihuahua) and Hermosillo (Sonora) than it is to its own state capital in Austin. El Paso is surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert. If you drive south or west, you will cross the Rio Grande River and be in Mexico.

The Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon is 600 miles northwest of El Paso.

5. As we drive the 600 miles on I-10 towards Austin, I start to appreciate how big Texas is, full of wide open spaces. It feels like home to me (which is actually Queensland, Australia). Coincidentally, Queensland is the second biggest state in Australia. How do Texas and Queensland compare in size?

Answer: Queensland is 2.5 times larger than Texas

Texas is 696,241 sq. km in area, while Queensland is 1,852, 642 sq. km. Texas is the 26th largest country subdivision by area in the world; Queensland is the sixth (Queensland is even bigger than Alaska). Both states have wide plains and big blue skies.

6. Texas is a big state full of big roads: the I-35/I-37 is a highway system that runs north-south and effectively bisects the state. If I drive south out of Oklahoma City on the I-35/I-37 heading for the Gulf of Mexico, in what order do I pass through the major cities? (Assume you take I-35W through Fort Worth and not I-35E through Dallas.)

Answer: Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi

The notable exceptions on this list are Dallas and Houston. The I-35 splits north of Dallas and Fort Worth at Denton to form I-35E, which runs through Dallas and I-35 west which runs through Fort Worth and joins up to form the I-35 south of Dallas.

Houston is 165 miles south east of Austin on Texas State Highway 71 and I-10 (Or US Route 290) and 200 miles east of San Antonio on I-10.

From San Antonio, if you continue south-west on I-35 you arrive in Monterrey, Mexico. You need to veer south on I-37 to reach the gulf at Corpus Christi.

7. While Austin is the state capital, the city is bestowed with the moniker of "The Live Music Capital of the World". The Texas Music Hall of Fame and Texas Music Museum are also located here. Over 100 live acts play in Austin every night. I have planned this trip so I arrive in Austin for its most famous music festival. What is its name?

Answer: South By Southwest Music Festival

SxSW Music is the largest music festival of its kind in the world, with more than 2,200 performers and bands playing in more than 100 venues within Austin. The Coachella festival is in Indio, California; The Buzzfelt festival is in Houston (and also the name of an unrelated one in Nashville); and the Homegrown festival is in Duluth, Minnesota.

Austin was the third-fastest-growing large city in the US from 2000 to 2006. Austin is also the third largest state capital in the United States after Phoenix and Indianapolis. In 2011, Austin had an estimated population of 820,000. The city is the cultural/economic center of the Austin Round Rock San Marcos metropolitan area, which had a population 1,783,519 in 2011 (U.S. Census).

8. Just over an hour down the road from Austin is San Antonio, "The River City". The River Walk is a pedestrian-only walkway one level below the street, running both sides of the river, that connects many attractions. Which one of the following facilities is NOT on the River Walk?

Answer: The Alamo Mission

San Antonio is the second biggest city in Texas with a 2011 population of 1.3 million and 2.2 million in its metropolitan area. (Brisbane , my home city had 2011 populations of approximately 1.1 and 2.3 million respectively). Also, Brisbane is known too as "The River City".

All the options listed except the Alamo are situated on the River Walk, although in 1981, The Hyatt Regency opened on the River Walk with a pedestrian connector to Alamo Plaza.

The Alamo is San Antonio's most popular attraction (The River Walk is second). There is a lot of history in the Alamo (it deserves a quiz of its own), but this building has its place in Texas' independence from Mexico and is centered on the Alamo. When rock singer Ozzy Osbourne urinated against the cenotaph outside the Alamo in 1982, there was outrage from the San Antonio citizens: "The outrage of city notables was intense, and led to the city council banning Osbourne from making public appearances in the city. The ban remained in effect for a decade, until Osbourne was publicly pardoned after paying $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas" (The Visual Arts Department at UC San Diego).

9. We arrive at Corpus Christi, a coastal city that feels like home in Australia: very warm, humid weather, a sea breeze, and beaches. There is also a more tangible icon that reminds me of Australia. What is this?

Answer: The Harbour Bridge has a striking similarity to the Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge is a harbor bridge connecting Corpus Christi to the Nuences Bay Causeway. It transports about 26,000 vehicles per day. It was constructed between 1956 and 1959 to replace a drawbridge. The bridge looks uncannily like the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but the span is more than double the Corpus Christi bridge plus twice as wide and carries six times more traffic per day.

The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge was opened in 1959.

10. Heading northeast 200 miles to our final destination, Houston is the fourth biggest city in the United States, therefore it is well represented in the major sporting teams. Which team I get to see will depend on the time of year I am there, but which Houston team will I NOT get to see regardless of the time of year I visit Houston?

Answer: Houston Oilers

Houston's major sporting teams include the Houston Texans (NFL), Rockets (NBA), Astros (MLB) and Dynamo (soccer). While Houston is not represented in the NHL, the Houston Aeros play in the American Hockey League, one rung down from NHL. The Houston Oilers were an NFL football team that played between 1960 and 1996. The Oilers were the first champions of the American Football League, winning the 1960 and 1961 contests, but never again won another championship and hence never the Super Bowl. The franchise was then transferred to the Tennessee Titans who commenced in the NFL in 1999.

Houston was named after former General Sam Houston, president of the Republic of Texas who had won the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of where the modern city is. Houston is a global city, and its economy has a wide industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation. Only New York City is home to more "Fortune 500" headquarters.

Source: Author 1nn1

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

An Australian in Texas Trivia Quiz

Now that there are non-stop flights from Australia to Dallas-Fort Worth, I can meet my FT classmate - in his/her home state of Texas. This quiz is all about a little of America's second largest state.

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