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Long Winded Questions with Even Longer Answers
Texas Geography- somewhat
Question 1: The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA’s center for Human Spaceflight in Houston, Texas. Often referred to as Mission Control or Simply “Houston” has been the recipient of some of the most exciting transmissions:
Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” — NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong after landing on the moon July 20, 1969
As well as some of the most terrifying:
Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here. The Apollo 13 crew on April 14th, 1970.
The Space Center has been officially “open for business” since September of 1963, but it wasn’t named the JSC until 10 years later. What was the original name of the “Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center”?
Answer: The Manned Spacecraft Center
Question 2: Dr. Pepper was first created around 1885 by a pharmacist in Waco, Texas. Its officially the nation’s oldest major soft drink… yes it’s older than Coca-Cola. Of course some things change over time including bottle design! What do the 10,2 and 4 stand for on the original Dr. Pepper bottles.
Answer: Drink a Bite to eat at 10, 2, and 4. Research in the 1920s showed folks suffered from a “sugar” low around 10 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm. Hence the need for a bubbly beverage like Dr. Pepper to get you going.
Question 3: During the Siege of San Antonio, Texans sought to intercept a Mexican shipment of silver going to Bexar. On November 28, 1835 Jim Bowie took a group of men to “capture” the mules. The Texans suffered minimal losses and returned to camp with their “spoils” only to be disappointed. What the Name of this Battle?
Answer: The Grass Fight of 1835. What the Texans believed to be silver to pay the Mexican troops, was in fact feed for the Mexican Army horses.
Question 4: This widely panned 2003 crime thriller features Kate Winslet forced to run with superhero-like speed and stamina from Austin to Huntsville to save Kevin Spacey.
Answer: The Life of David Gale. Don’t get me started about this movie… but at least it was actually shot in Texas!
Question 5: SMU may be the Mustangs, but the official mascot since 1932 is a Shetland pony named Peruna. Peruna is named after the school fight song, but what is the fight song named for?
Answer: Peruna was the name of the most famous elixir in Texas and had a reputation as a cure-all. The name Peruna originated in the fall of 1915 when SMU student George Sexton substituted the words, she’ll be loaded with Peruna when she comes….” to the tune of Coming Round the Mountain. The popularity of Peruna soared during prohibition due to the high alcohol content allowed for medicinal purposes. Peruna happens to mean potato in Finnish.
Hollywood in Texas (sort of culture)
Question 1: The Arneson River Theater located on the San Antonio Riverwalk was featured in this 2000 Sandra Bullock Rom Com?
Answer: Miss Congeniality features Sandra Bullock as a FBI agent tasked with stopping a bomb threat at the 75th Annual Miss United States Pageant set in San Antonio. While the Riverwalk and Alamo were used as shooting locations, the majority of the film was shot in Austin including the Driskill Hotel, the Bass Concert Hall at the University of Texas and the Omni Austin at South Park.
Question 2: This Texas Native was born in and grew up in Quitman, Texas. She had additional strong ties to the Lone Star State including Native Parents, and a Grandfather who served as the mayor of Granger, Texas. While she has a storied career in television and movies, her most prominent early role was in the 1976 film, Carrie.
Answer: Sissy Spacek. Spacek continues to have a successful career starring in additional roles including the Coal Miner’s Daughter, Badlands and the Long Walk Home. Sissy’s cousin “Rip” Torn, Jr. is also a Native Texas hailing from Temple, Texas. While his acting career may be notable, his membership as a Texas A&M University Corp of Cadets, while ultimately being a graduate of the University of Texas seems more interesting.
Question 3: Who was the director of the Texas Based 2014 movie, Boyhood?
Answer: Houston Native (and current Austin resident) Richard Linklater. Linklater has been featuring Texas in his films starting with his earliest one Slacker. Linklater Texas based films include Dazed and Confused, The Newton Boys, the Waking Life, and Bernie.
Question 4: There are lots of Texas high schools that have produced massive talent, but one stands out for us at least. Which Texas high school claims famous alumni: Lyle Lovett, Kendra Scott (yeah, we know she’s not a performer), Matthew Bomer, Lee Pace and Ben Rappaport?
Answer: Klein High School in Spring, Texas. Lyle Lovett (class of 1975) and Ben Rappaport (class of 2004) are notable outliers. But Matthew Bomer (class of 1996) and Lee Pace (Class of 1997) were famous friends. Bomer stating at one point he’s known Pace, since Pace was shorter than him. Kendra Scott graduated in 1992.
Notably Jim Parsons is from Spring, but graduated from Klein Oak High School in 1991.
Question 5: On March 21, 1980, the season finale of Dallas premiered leaving Americans desperately wondering who shot JR? We finally got the answer on November 21, 1980 in the episode entitled “Who Done It?” So, who shot JR?
Answer: Kristen Shepherd, JR’s scheming sister-in-law shot JR in a fit of anger, later claiming that she was pregnant with his son. JR. didn’t press charges. More important than who actually shot JR was the impression the cliffhanger left on worldwide culture. During the 1980 United States presidential election, the Republicans distributed campaign buttons that claimed, “A Democrat shot J.R.”, while Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter joked that he would have no problem financing his campaign if he knew who shot JR. The episode was an international event, with more than 350 million people tuning in to find out who shot J.R. A session of the Turkish parliament was suspended to allow legislators a chance to get home in time to view the conclusion of the cliffhanger. Even Queen Elizabeth and the Queen mother tuned in for the big reveal. The success of the stunt helped popularize the practice of ending a season on a cliffhanger. Largely driven by the numbers, more people watched the episode than voted in the election that year.
Cuisine
Question 1: Lots of people claim to have served up the first Hamburger, but ____________ of Athens, Texas opened his lunch counter and served up a “burger” of fried ground beef patties with mustard and Bermuda onion between two slices of bread with a pickle on the side in the 1880’s.
Answer: Fletcher Davis. The story is that in 1904, Davis and his wife Ciddy ran a sandwich stand at the St. Louis World’s Fair. History Frank Tolbert, noted that Athen’s resident Clint Murchinson said his grandfather dated the hamburger to the 1880’s with Fletcher “Old Dave” Davis. A photo of Old Dave’s Hamburger Stand from 1904 was sent to Tolbert as evidence of the claim. Who are we to question Old Dave especially with photographic evidence?
Question 2: The first Nachos were created in 1943 by Chef Ignacio Anaya on the Mexican border near Fort Duncan, Texas. These basic corn chips with cheddar cheese and Jalapenos were a far cry from today’s “stadium nachos.” The first concession style Nachos were severed up in 1976 at the home to what Texas professional team?
Answer: The Texas Rangers. Frank Liberto, the “King of Nachos” first introduced the snack bar Nacho at Arlington Field, home of the Texas Rangers. Liberto, a third generation San Antonio businessman, knew that the traditional nacho wouldn’t work in the concession environment. He determined that cheese sauce warmed in a warmer was the most efficient way to go. He later created a thicker chip that wouldn’t get soggy quickly under the melted cheese. Liberto’s stadium nachos were so popular he started Ricos Products Co. to keep up with the demand.
Question 3: The Texas Legislature only meets in a regular session for 140 days every other year (odd numbered years to be exact) Despite this brief schedule, they take time to designate favorites or Capitals of the state. For example, Poteet is the Strawberry Capital of Texas, San Marcos is the mermaid capital of Texas, and Odessa is the jackrabbit-roping capital of Texas (not sure if that’s jackrabbit and roping or roping jackrabbits). Which Texas town has been designated as the Kolache Capital of Texas taking time every year to celebrate these favorite Czech pastries with their very own Kolache festival?
Answer: Caldwell, Texas was designated the Official Kolache capital of Texas with House Concurrent Resolution No 171, 71st legislature regular session in 1989. Some of y’all might find this a travesty worthy of revolt, but the legislature did give West its due in 1997 when they named it the Home of the Official Kolache of the Texas State Legislature. And for good measure, WestFest on Labor Day weekend every year. The Caldwell Kolache Festival also takes place in early September.
Question 4: Everybody loves Blue Bell Ice Cream (so much they’ll grab a cartoon get a little taste and put it back while they continue to shop or buy a half-eaten tub of it on the Craig’s list for $500). But Ice Cream wasn’t the first thing this Brenham based creamery produced. In fact, it wasn’t the only focus as late as 1958. What was the original product introduced in 1907?
Answer: Butter. The Brenham Creamery Company was first established in 1907 by a group of local businessmen to sell butter made from the excess cream brought in by area farmers. They started making ice cream at the rate of 2 gallons per day in 1911. The company’s name was changed to Blue Bell Creameries in 1930 in an effort to improve profitability. Blue Bell was only sold to the towns near Brenham until 1960, when they finally made the 70-mile trek to Houston. Since then, Blue Bell has been sent to Presidents (The Bushes of course), served at White House dinners, and been enjoyed by Astronauts in the International Space Station.
Question 5: Which Italian Grill was started in Houston in 1986, and maintains local ownership of its two original locations which it calls “Houston’s true neighborhood restaurant(s)”? Maybe it’s a helpful hint, Lacey worked next door to one of the two original locations in 2011 and 2012.
Answer: Carrabba’s Italian Grill was opened by Johnny Carrabba III and his uncle. Damian Mandola on Kirby Drive in Houston with a second location renamed Rosie Carrabbas on Voss. In 1993, Carrabbas formed a joint venture with Outback Steakhouse, Inc. to open 10 additional locations in Houston and Florida, and later gave OSI the right to establish the chain nationwide.
History
Question 1: Who was the first female governor of Texas?
Answer: Miriam “Ma” Ferguson was Texas’ first female governor serving two terms 1925-1927 and 1933-1935. Not only was Ma Ferguson, the first female governor of Texas, she was the first woman governor to serve a full term in the United States. The next time the Lone Star State would have a woman serving as governor would be Ann Richards who served as the 45th governor from 1991-1995.
Question 2: The regular army was understaffed during the Spanish American War. As a result, President William McKinley appointed all commanding United States officers to recruit cavalry regiments from western states and territories. Lt. Col Theodore Roosevelt recognized that Texas was an ideal place to recruit the regiment that was commonly referred to as the Rough Riders. At which San Antonio Bar did he set up shop?
Answer: The Menger Bar (often referred to as the Teddy Roosevelt Bar). The Menger claims to be the oldest continuously operated Saloon in San Antonio, and is a replica of the taproom in the House of Lords Club in London. The Rough Riders weren’t only recruited from the bar, they continued to use it as a favorite watering hole after they trained nearby. They were a rather rowdy group, and the bar still has the bullet holes to prove it.
Question 3: The first oil well in Texas was drilled in Nacogdoches County in 1866, by Lune Barret. But European Settlers were using oil in Texas in the 1500’s to do what?
Answer: Caulking Boats. Native Americans found oil seeping from the solid, and believed it had medical value, however the first record of Europeans using crude oil was for caulking boats in 1543 by survivors of the DeSoto Expedition near Sabine Pass.
Question 4: Everyone remembers the devastating fire that destroyed the Texas State Fair’s beloved cowboy, Big Tex in 2012. But, when did Big Tex make his State Fair Debut?
Answer: 1952. Big Tex made his debut at the Texas State Fair as a 52-foot cowboy in 1952. The original Big Tex started as a 49-foot-tall Santa Clause constructed from iron drill casing, papier mâché, and unraveled rope in 1949 to encourage Christmas sales in Kernes, Texas. After 2 seasons the excitement over the “World’s Tallest Santa” faded, and the city offered it up for sale. In 1951, the State Fair president R.L Thornton purchased Santa’s components for $750. Compare that to the $500,000 price tag that the 2013 rendition cost.
Question 5: The 1842 Texas Archive War was a dispute over what?
Answer: The Archive War was a dispute over the attempted move of the Republic of Texas national archives from Austin to Houston, more broadly over President Sam Houston’s efforts to re-establish Houston as the capital of Texas. (Columbia for the record was the first official capital of the Republic of Texas and a large amount of strife was caused in the early days of the Republic due to the conflicting beliefs between Sam Houston and Mirabu Lamar).
Question 6: Artist Brad Smith and his Company Tilt Vision are currently embroiled in a lawsuit against the city of Waller, Texas claiming the city’s desire to veto building mural content is a violation of the first amendment freedom of expression. However, Brad Smith is more known for his lawsuit against this Dallas Born Rapper for using Smith’s Deep Ellum Based Mural in a video without Smith’s permission.
Answer: Robert Van Winkle known as Vanilla Ice. Vanilla Ice’s hit first single “Ice Ice Baby” was the first hip hop song to hit number one on the billboard hot 100. WInkle came under pressure from Queen and David Bowie when they sued him for unauthorized use of their song. Vanilla Ice was also sued by Muralist Brad Smith for Unauthorized use of his mural located (we believe) at 2800 Main Street, Dallas in the video. Side note, the song is set in Miami, but the video which was made for $8000 was filmed in Dallas, with the outside shots being filmed in Deep Ellum.
Sports
Question 1: Which High School football team was the book Friday Night Lights based on?
Answer: Friday Night Lights Chronicles the Permian Panthers (Permian High School) 1988 football team. The TV show on the other hand features the small fictional town of Dillon, Texas.
Question 2: In 1991, Channelview resident Wanda Holloway was arrested for attempting to hire a hitman to kill who and why?
Answer: When Wanda Holloway’s (the pom- pom mom’s) daughter, Shanna, failed to make the middle school cheerleading team (by a slight margin) two years in a row her mother decided to boost her daughter’s chances by hiring a hitman to take out Verna Heath, the mother of neighbor and cheerleader Amber Heath, in hopes that Amber would be too distraught to try out for the Alice Johnson Jr. High school cheerleading team paving the way for Shanna to finally earn her rightful place on the team.
Question 3: We’re all aware of the Baylor football Team’s Sexual Assault Scandal that ran from at least 2012 to 2016 that ended in the ultimate conviction of several Baylor football players and the termination of head football coach Art Briles. Who was the University President during that time?
Answer: A man whose name is synonymous with scandal, Ken Starr was named the President of Baylor University 2010, and chancellor in 2013. He eventually was ousted as president, and resigned his post as chancellor and law professor at the World’s Largest baptist university in 2016. As a fun side note (and no there are NO fun side notes to this story) Starr joined President Trump’s legal team in January, 2020 during Trump’s first impeachment trial.
Question 4: This undefeated Texas football franchise boasts a 49-0 record with 3 national championship titles. They are headed into the 2024 season with high hopes to continue their winning streak and a documentary to boot!
Answer: Women also play tackle football! The Texas Elite Spartans are members of the Women’s National Football conference. They are the only undefeated team in women’s tackle football. Think you might want to check them out? Their first game of the 2024 season is April 6th at the Max Goldsmith Football stadium.
Question 5: This former American number one tennis player, (ranked as high 8th worldwide) stands at 6 ft. 10 inches and is most known for his role in the longest 2 matches in Grand Slam History – Wimbledon 2010 and Wimbledon 2018, is currently living in Dallas with his wife Madison?
Answer: John Isner. Isner moved to Dallas with his wife Native Dallasonion Madison whom he met at the Men’s Clay Court Championship at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston about 6 years ago. Prior to the Dallas open, Isner was asked:
What about outside the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex? How much of Texas have you been able to see, and do you have a favorite spot?
His Answer:
I really like Buc-ee’s. Even if we’re going on a road trip that’s not so long, we’ll stop in there even if we don’t need gas or food. You always stop there! You can get anything. You can walk out of there with a brand-new ensemble. I think when people not from the state see that place, they’re like, ‘What the hell is this place?’ It’s pretty unique.
Music
Question 1: Who is known as the King of Western Swing?
Answer: Bob Wills. Bob Wills formed the Texas Playboys in 1934. Wills favored Jaz like arrangements and the band found national recognition in the 1940’s with hits such as Steel Guitar Rag, San Antonio Rose, Smoke on the Water, Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima, and the New Spanish Two-Step. Wills was inducted into the Country Hall of Fame in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Will and the Texas Playboys in 1999. If you don’t know Wills from his musical success chances are you know him from Waylon Jennings Song Bob Wills is Still the King.
Question 2: Jerry Haynes is mostly known for his role as Mr. Peppermint, host of one of the longest running local television shows in history. But, his biggest role may be as the father of Gibby Haynes front man for this Texas based band?
Answer: The Butthole Surfers were founded by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in 1981. The San Antonio based band was respected by their peers and attracted a devoted audience fanbase, but they had little commercial success until 1996’s Electriclarryland, the album that contained “Pepper”.
(Side Note about Jerry Haynes- He was the first to report the Kennedy assassination on Local News.
Question 3: This Texas actress, singer-songwriter got her big break on Barney and Friends but emerged as a Teen Idol on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place. In September of 2008 she starred in the teen musical comedy “Another Cinderella Story”. She recorded three songs from that soundtrack leading to her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.
Answer: Selena Gomez. Selena was born in Grand Prairie and was named after Corpus Christi Tejano singer Selena. She made the move to cross over into the recording industry forming the pop rock band Selena Gomez and the Scene. Gomez eventually left Selena Gomez and the Scene. She has continued to work as a solo artist and an actress. She was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in Only Murders in the Building.
Question 4: This Texas Guitarist gave up his seat on an airplane to Singer J.P Richardson because the latter had the flu. In the end, this act of kindness saved his life, as the airplane later crashed killing everyone on board on the “Day the Music Died.”
Answer: Waylon Jennings was performing in Buddy Holly’s band after he split from the Crickets. It’s sometimes reported that he flipped a coin to see who would fly on the plane, however that was actually Tommy Allsup who flipped a coin with Richie Valens.
The Rules
Not Just Another Texas Trivia Game Rules
- Teams may not exceed 6 people.
- No cell phones, or other electronic devices
- Do not shout out answers
- Once an answer has been submitted it may not be changed.
- Correct Answers will be called out at the end of each round.
- There will be 5 rounds with 5 questions each.
- Each question is worth 1 point. (We’re keeping things simple.)
- Designate a runner to turn in each round’s answer sheet.
- There will be one minute between each question with a longer break between rounds.
- In the event of a tie, there will be a playoff round.