Lasting nearly a decade, the Republic of Texas was short-lived, but it did establish a footprint overseas. With the threat of Mexico at its doorstep, the sovereign Texas government sought support from Britain, opening an embassy at 4 St. James’s Street in London from 1836 to 1845. Today, the location is a wine shop, and all that remains of the former embassy is a plaque in the alleyway that bears the Republic’s seal.

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the speed limits. On a 40-mile stretch of State Highway 130 between Austin and San Antonio, drivers can legally cruise as fast as 85 mph — the highest posted speed limit in the country. Though 85 mph is now the record, in the 1990s, Montana had no speed limit during daytime hours, simply directing drivers to operate at "reasonable and prudent" speeds.

Can’t get enough Dr Pepper? You can visit the original 1906 bottling plant in Waco, Texas, the first building dedicated to the manufacturing of the popular soda — and home to the Dr Pepper Museum since 1997. The soft drink was invented in Waco in 1885 — a year before Coca-Cola. The museum houses over 100,000 objects related to the history of Dr Pepper and the soft drink industry.

A 55-foot-tall cowboy, Big Tex is beloved by Texans. He’s been around for almost 70 years, welcoming millions of happy fair-goers to the Texas State Fair each season. Located in Fair Park, Dallas, this annual event has been held since 1886 and includes livestock, amusement rides, and — of course — delicious fair food.

Though you can’t go wrong with any of these snack choices, the Texas State Legislature made tortilla chips and salsa the state’s official snack in 2003, noting “Texans’ insatiable demand for this zesty concoction.” The iconic pairing is not only widely popular, but it also bears cultural and historic significance for Texans in particular, with lawmakers writing that chips and salsa “constitute a much-savored part of our shared cultural identity.”

Spanning across 825,000 acres in South Texas, King Ranch is a massive cattle ranch larger than the state of Rhode Island. Richard King, the ranch’s founder, began purchasing the land for Rancho de Santa Gertrudis (King Ranch) back in 1853. The ranch was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and continues to produce cattle, racehorses, and even citrus.

The mysterious Marfa Lights are strange, ethereal glowing orbs that appear in the desert outside the West Texas town of Marfa. For more than 100 years, observers have recorded sightings of the basketball-sized globes of light, reporting that they can hover, merge, twinkle, split, flicker, and float all around the Marshall Flat just east of town. No one is sure what causes the phenomenon.

The “Top of Texas” is found in the Guadalupe Mountains at Guadalupe Peak, also called Signal Peak, in the Chihuahuan Desert. It rises 8,751 feet over the vast grasslands below and makes for a strenuous journey for those who hike the 8.4-mile round trip to the top. The area is part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas near the New Mexico border.

Most of Texas is located in the Central Time Zone, but its two westernmost counties, El Paso and Hudspeth, have been operating in the Mountain Time Zone since 1970. In 1921, the Secretary of Transportation placed all of Texas, including El Paso, in the Central Time Zone. However, the city ignored the legislation and continued to unofficially operate on Mountain Time for nearly 50 years before legally making the change.

When it opened in 1965, the Houston Astrodome became the world’s first domed and air-conditioned indoor stadium. One of the most important architectural landmarks in Texas, the dome was nicknamed the “Eighth Wonder of the World” for its impressive size and groundbreaking steel latticework. The arena was the home field for the Houston Astros until 1999, but it hasn’t been used since 2009.

They say not to mess with Texas, but if you’re France, you might just put up a fair fight. The European country and U.S. state are closest in size — France covers 248,573 square miles, including its five overseas integral regions, while Texas is a bit larger at 268,820 square miles. If you exclude the overseas regions, France is even smaller at 213,010 square miles, but it’s still the largest country by land area in Western Europe and the only match for Texas, size-wise.

Founded in 1961 and still in operation today, the Johnson Space Center in Houston has been the site of mission control for some of the world’s most historic space expeditions. You might also recognize the famous line “Houston, we have a problem” from the 1995 film “Apollo 13” — the quote came from astronaut John Swigert, who was radioing NASA mission control in Houston.

The Lower 48 is home to just three power grids: the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection, and ERCOT (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas). Why does Texas have its own grid? ERCOT stemmed from a number of separate electric utilities that began to link together in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Power Act in 1935, TIS remained independent in order to avoid federal regulation.

The word “Texas” is derived from the Native American Caddo language word “teyshas,” meaning "friends" or "allies." When Spanish explorers landed in what is now Texas in the 16th century, they believed “teyshas” was the name of a tribe. They began labeling the area north of the Rio Grande “Teyas” or “Tejas,” which came to be known as Texas.

The rough-and-tumble tagline for the Lone Star State actually came from an anti-litter campaign from the 1980s. The state was spending $20 million each year for trash pick-up, so Austin advertising agency GSD&M coined the slogan as a call for Texans to keep their state beautiful and litter-free. And it worked. A year later, roadside litter had been reduced by nearly 30%.

Founded in the 18th century in present-day San Antonio, the Alamo Mission was the setting for the pivotal Battle of the Alamo in 1836 during the Texas Revolution. During the 13-day siege, Texans fought for their independence from Mexico. A few years later, “Remember the Alamo” became a popular battle cry during the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848.

Ranking after New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, the “Space City” is home to 2.4 million residents. Texas is home to two other cities in the list of top 10 biggest cities in the U.S. San Antonio (population: 1.6 million) ranks seventh, and Dallas (population: 1.4 million) ranks ninth.

California is by far the most populous state in the country, with 39.6 million people and counting — that’s more than the 38 million people who live in the entire country of Canada. However, Texas is only 10 million people behind California, with a population of 29.7 million — much of that coming from big cities like Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

The fifth-longest river in the U.S., the Rio Grande forms the border between northeastern Mexico and the southern United States. The river begins in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and flows south through New Mexico until it reaches Texas, where it forms the state’s southwestern border. The river also flows through Big Bend National Park, the largest national park in Texas.

The self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin hosts a seemingly endless amount of concerts. With over 200 music venues (the most per capita of any U.S. city), Austin attracts millions of tourists each year to experience its entertainment scene, including famous annual music festivals like “Austin City Limits” and “South by Southwest.”