Discover Austin: 10 Amazing Fun Facts About the Texas Capital You Need to Know

1. Dracula's Texan Bat Colony

What happens when Dracula's minions go Texan? They give birth to a bat foxtrot under a bridge, deep in the heart of Austin: With 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats, Austin, Texas boasts the world's largest urban bat colony, housing over 750,000 pups each year, attracting tourists and generating millions in revenue while they passionately attend to their furry-parenting duties at the Congress Avenue Bridge.
Source => tpwd.texas.gov

2. Mighty Breakfast Taco Origins

Once upon a tortilla, in the land of Texas, arose a mighty hybrid of taste, uniting two culinary worlds in morning matrimony and a mouthful of Mexcellence: Austin, Texas, bestowed the honorific title "breakfast taco" upon the savory fusion of Mexican flavors and Anglo-Germanic breakfast ingredients. With roots in immigrant Mexican kitchens, this Tex-Mex sensation took the commercial stage during the 1950s in Corpus Christi, and Austin eventually became the birthplace of numerous family-owned taquerias. Now a staple of the city's foodie scene, the breakfast taco crusades for flavor even in metropolises like Brooklyn and L.A.
Source => austin.eater.com

Did you know that 1.5 million bats call Austin's Congress Avenue Bridge their home, creating the world's largest urban bat colony? Witness their nightly insect feast and join the delighted locals and tourists! 🦇

=> Fun Facts about Texas

3. SXSW Beyond Music Mania

Feeling the rhythm, embracing the rhyme: you've got yourself a South by Southwest time! But these days, Austin's famed SXSW Conference isn't just for music maniacs; it spans an epic 23 tracks that touch on technology, entertainment, and culture, diving deep into subjects like nanotechnology, future of cannabis businesses, film and TV production, climate change, and more. One track even transports us into the immersive world of XR and the Metaverse! So if you're thinking SXSW is just a rockin' jam fest—think again!
Source => sxsw.com

4. Austin's Tower of Babel

If you're ever feeling a bit tongue-tied in Austin, Texas, it's time to dust off your Rosetta Stone collection: 30.5% of people aged 5 years and older in this diverse city speak a language other than English at home, making it a veritable modern-day Tower of Babel!
Source => census.gov

5. 3-D-Printed Metal Gun

When guns go high-tech: Austin, Texas houses Solid Concepts, the creators of the world's first 3-D-printed metal gun using direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technology, proving its strength and accuracy for real-world applications. Although not intended for revolutionizing firearms, Solid Concepts can 3-D print unique gun parts for qualifying customers in just five days with their costly industrial-grade DMLS machines.
Source => spectrum.ieee.org

6. Hipster Avocado Toast Tech Scene

In Austin, tech nerds and innovative entrepreneurs have flocked like hipsters to an avocado toast convention: As a hotspot for large tech companies like Meta and Tesla, Austin boasts over 99 venture deals totaling 1.5 billion in funding for Q1 of 2022 and ranks as one of the top three states for starting a company according to the Draper Hero Institute.
Source => therecruitability.com

7. Texas' Tall and Mighty Capitol

They say everything's bigger in Texas, and Austin's Texas State Capitol building is no different: it puts the 'cap' in "capital" with a staggering 302.64-foot height, making it the sixth-tallest state capitol in America. This behemoth scales the heights of architectural brilliance with over 360,000 square feet of floor space, more than 900 windows worthy of a spy film, and a veritable sculpture garden of monuments, including the Terry's Texas Rangers' Monument and the Heroes of the Alamo.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Live Music Capital Frenzy

If you're ever in Austin and find yourself questioning your sanity as you suddenly hear music emanating from the airport terminal, or stumble upon a folk band serenading the aisles of your local grocery store—worry not, for you have entered the rhythmic realm of the Texan twilight zone: The city of Austin is renowned as the "Live Music Capital of the World®", featuring over hundreds of vibrant music venues and even offering extensive guides to help music lovers navigate through this melodious maze.
Source => austintexas.org

9. Forrest Gump's Austin Marathon Dream

If Forrest Gump lived in Austin, he might have become a marathon champ instead of a ping pong prodigy: Austin, Texas is home to a bevy of top running coaches who cater to runners of all abilities, with RunDoyen offering personalized training plans and expert guidance from some of the industry's most accomplished coaches.
Source => runguides.com

10. Buzzworthy Bee Apiary Cultural Center

Get ready to "bee" amazed: Austin is unveiling an 18-acre, open-air cultural center featuring sustainable design like solar panels, rainwater stations, gardens, and even a bee apiary. It offers curated exhibits, interactive installations, local food & beverages, and HOPE-ful walls that can be seen from the sky!
Source => kut.org