They don’t say “Keep Austin Weird” for nothing. I don’t think there’s a high enough number to count all the strange occurrences that have happened here. I could write a book on this topic, but I decided to stick with 10 of the weirdest things I could find. Here they are:
- In 1962, Janis Joplin was voted “ugliest man on campus” at the University of Texas.
Flickr/lookingforjanis
- Lady Bird Johnson refused to have the town lake named after her, so they waited until she died to name it after her anyway.
Flickr/ejmc
- Jake Perry, an Austin resident, holds records for the two longest living cats in history. This is Creme Puff, who lived to be 38 years old.
Wikipedia
- The citizens of Austin once voted to name their garbage dump after Fred Durst.
Flickr/ifcinfrastructure
- Every April, Austin celebrates Eeyore’s birthday.
Flickr/Christene S.
- In 2014, convicted murderer Bernie Tiede was released from prison with the condition that he live with the director of a film about his crime, Richard Linklater.
Wikipedia
- 7-eleven stores only started operating 24/7 after customers wouldn’t stop coming in following a particularly crowded UT football game.
Flickr/edgarzuniga
- A man named Ted Williams is suing Skrillex for unlawfully using the sound of one of his farts in a song.
Flickr/alexander_okunev
- Plastic grocery bags are banned in Austin.
Flickr/dan4th
- In 2009, Metallica performed under the name ‘Volsung’ at South By South West.
Flickr/sreichenbach
Although these are some of the weirdest things to happen in Austin, the list could go on and on. What would you add?
Flickr/lookingforjanis
Flickr/ejmc
Wikipedia
Flickr/ifcinfrastructure
Flickr/Christene S.
Flickr/edgarzuniga
Flickr/alexander_okunev
Flickr/dan4th
Flickr/sreichenbach
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