Dallas, colloquially referred to as ‘Big D’, is located in the North of Texas. Here are just 10 fun facts about the US city.
- Population
- Visitors
- Big Tex
- Frozen margaritas
- 7-eleven
- German chocolate cake
- Popcorn
- Cake
- Famous faces
- Art
Population
Dallas is home to 1,281,047 people, making it the 3rd largest city in Texas and the 9th largest city in the US.
Visitors
On average 24.9 million people visit Dallas each year. The JFK Museum, Botanical Gardens, and Reunion Tower are just some of the attractions that tourists travel to see.
Big Tex
Big Tex is a 52-foot tall statue that welcomes visitors to the annual state fair of Texas, which is held at Fair Park in Dallas every year. Not only is Big Tex a cultural icon of both Dallas and Texas, but he is also the tallest cowboy in the whole of Texas.
Frozen margaritas
The only way to improve on the perfection that is a cocktail is to freeze it. Although we don’t know who invented frozen margaritas, we do know that Mariano Martinez was the genius behind the frozen margarita machine. In 1971 Mariano Martinez was receiving complaints from customers at his restaurant in Dallas because bartenders weren’t accurately measuring the quantities of their frozen margaritas due to their high demand. Cleverly, Martinez figured out that an automatic mixer could both produce the perfectly mixed frozen margarita and ease the load on his bartenders. Thus, he began using a soft-serve ice cream machine to generate his frozen margaritas, and the frozen margarita machine was born.
7-eleven
We’ve all heard of, and probably visited, 7-eleven, America’s popular convenience store. But, did you know that 7-eleven was founded in Dallas, where its headquarters remain? The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. Then named Tote’m Stores, they sold ice as well as basic essentials such as bread and eggs. The name 7-eleven wasn’t used until 1946 when the name changed to reflect the store’s new opening hours- 7 am to 11 pm.
German chocolate cake
Contrary to the name, German chocolate cake does not originate from Germany, but Dallas. In 1852 an English American baker named Samuel German created a dark baking chocolate with more sugar than the average semi-sweet baking chocolate. 105 years later, the Dallas Morning News published a cake recipe by Mrs. George Clay called German’s Chocolate Cake, because it used Samuel German’s specific baking chocolate. As the recipe was distributed, the apostrophe was dropped and the name altered to German Chocolate Cake as we know it today.
Popcorn
According to Fortune magazine more popcorn is consumed in the Dallas-Fort Worth area than any other. Historian and columnist for the Dallas Morning News, A.C Greene, believes that this is because many people in Dallas still visit the movies to see the latest blockbusters. Naturally, popcorn and movies go hand in hand, thus explaining the high demand for it in the Dallas area.
Cake
Another fun Dallas cake fact is that there is a slice of cake from the 1913 wedding of President Woodrow Wilson’s daughter, Jessie, in Woodrow Wilson High School. The cake was sent from one of Jessie’s bridesmaids in Texas to her cousin in Dallas. In 1927, the cake was laid in one of the cornerstones of the school.
Famous faces
Dallas was the birthplace of some of the world’s most famous faces. Included in that list are Owen Wilson, Usher, Selena Gomez, and Kelly Clarkson.
Art
At 68 acres, The Dallas Arts District is the largest urban arts district in the US. It is home to facilities for visual, performing, and developing arts including the Meyerson Symphony Centre, Winspear Opera House, and Dallas Museum of Art. It is in the arts district that you can find a wide variety of art spanning from ancient times to the present.
The best thing about Dallas is that Laundryheap operates in the city. Book your Laundryheap order today by heading to the Laundryheap website or downloading the free Laundryheap app.
