Moby Goes to Austin TX for X-Mas

We spent Christmas in Austin visiting family. Here’s our Austin trivia quiz. Fill in the blanks. Answers are at the bottom of each picture. Keep track of how many you get right. Leave a response and post your score. Winners (and losers) get a beer next time we see you.

1. First, an easy one: _____ was governor of Texas from _____ to _____ (years).

2. These _____ are native to _____ (continent) and are descendants of pet birds released in Austin. During the ______ (decade) they established self-sustaining colonies and now Austin has many of them living in town.

3. _____ is Austin’s premier outdoor swimming pool. The pool is part natural riverbed, part concrete and dam, and is fed by a natural spring with a year-round temperature of about _____ degrees. The spring’s average flow averages _____ million gallons/day.

4. David G. Burnet served briefly as ad-interim president of the Republic of Texas in 1936. He holds a striking resemblance to_____. Staff members noted that he “grumbled ungraciously, was hard to please, and spent all his time giving orders and collecting _____.”

5. This tree, found throughout the south, is known as a _____  because _____.

6. Although hideous at dancing the Texas two-step, Larry and Moby excelled at Austin’s three-step back-in parking. The city went to this parking system in _____ (year) in order to increase parking capacity along _____ (famous Austin street).

7. The Shipe House was built in 1892 in Austin’s Hyde Park neighborhood, site of the old state _____. Wood from the _____ was used in the home’s construction.

9. The _____ is a famous BBQ place about  30 miles southwest of Austin and encourages customers to BYOB because _____.

10. _____ was governor of Texas from 1963-1969. He is also known because he _____.

11. Another easy one: Austin is know for its _____. Larry sampled as many as he could. This one is manned by daughter Katie’s boyfriend, Nick.

12. William Sidney Porter, whose pen name was _____, moved to Austin in 1884 when he was 22. He worked for the First National Bank of Austin where he was accused of _____. Rather than stand trial, he fled to Honduras where he coined the term _____.

13. The Texas state capitol displays the seals of six countries that–at one time–had sovereignty over Texas. The six countries are __, __, __, __, __, and __.

The six countries are:

• Spain (1519-1685 and 1690-1821) Above center.
• France (1685-1690)
• Mexico (1821-1836) Above left.
• The Republic of Texas (1836=1845)
• The Confederate States of America (1861-1865)
• The United States (1845-1861 and 1865-present) Above right.

14. Austin is famous for its _____.

15. _____, one of Larry’s favorite plants loves the parks and waterways of Austin. According to the city of Austin, urushiol oil can remain on plants for _____ years after they die.

16. The Frost building in downtown Austin is reputed to look like an _____. Urban legend holds that the architects of the building were graduates of University of Texas’s rival, _____ University, whose mascot is said to resemble this building.

17. _____ (name of bridge) is home to about 750,000 nesting female _____ that migrate here to give birth each summer. It’s the largest urban colony of these in North America. Watching these is a favorite Austin summertime event.

18. These are home to _____ , which are native to Austin but winter in _____.

19. The so-called _____ plant is really an _____. It blooms every _____ to _____ years and then dies. Flower stalks can reach 15 feet.