Take a Selfie Tour of Texas World Record-Holders

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and these world record-holders across our state make a good case for that holding true!

Story and photos by Gerald McLeod, retired TCDRS Communications Manager

 

The Guinness Book of Records^TM lists between 550 and 766 world records credited to Texans. The majority of these records are one-offs. It’s hard to imagine the world’s record for “fastest escape from a straightjacket while sword swallowing” being challenged any time soon, or that the largest Frito pie, cotton candy sculpture or pecan pie have a lot of competition, but who knows?

What’s important is that many current Texas record holders are physical entities you can visit for selfies. Here are some top sites that should make your travel list:

Coastal Crowd-Pleasers

Left: The world’s largest working fire hydrant; Right: San Jacinto Monument.

In Galveston, The Bryan Museum houses the “world’s largest published book” when it’s not out on tour. I Am Texas is a 7-foot-tall book that set the record in 2022. The book has 1,000 stories, poems and artwork written by Texas school kids.

In La Porte, have your picture taken with “world’s tallest monumental column”. Completed in 1939, the San Jacinto Monument stands on the 1936 battleground at 567.31 feet high. With the 220-ton, 34-foot high star on the top, the shaft is 12 feet taller than the Washington Monument.

In Beaumont, the “world’s largest working fire hydrant” stands in front of the Fire Museum of Texas. The Dalmatian-spotted hydrant was donated to the city by the Walt Disney Company in 1999. The 24-foot hydrant held the title for two years until it was usurped by larger hydrants. But it is the only one that works and is able to blast 1,500 gallons of water a minute.

Central Texas Colossuses

The largest boot sculpture in the world.

The Guinness World Records Museum in San Antonio closed, but San Antonio still might be Texas’s champ for having the most entries in the record book. Head to North Star Mall in San Antonio to have your picture taken with the “largest boot sculpture in the world”. Artist Bob “Daddy-o” Wade’s super-sized shoes measure 35 feet tall.

The Warehouse at C.C. Creations in College Station became the “largest collegiate merchandise store in the world” in 2017, and it only sells Texas A&M merchandise.

The “world’s largest spur” in Lampasas measures 33 feet, 10.75 inches tall and 8 feet, 8.52 inches wide. Have your picture taken with it in the parking lot of Texas Real Estate Sales south of town at 1902-A US281.

North Texas Knockouts

The world’s largest Bowie knife.

The Top o' Texas Tower at Fair Park in Dallas is recognized as the “most slender tower in the world” with a slenderness ratio of 47.61. The tower takes riders in a gondola on a 500-foot excursion above the midway.

The State Fair’s 21-story Ferris wheel is the largest in North America, but is no world record holder.
North of Fort Worth the “world’s largest Bowie knife” in the town of Bowie measures 20 feet and six inches long. It stabs the earth in a park south of downtown.

In nearby Burleson, Moontower Pizza Bar offers the “world’s largest commercially available pizza”. The 8-foot by 32-inch pizza must be ordered 48 hours in advance and costs $349, pizza box costs extra.

Who knows, maybe you and your travel companions can capture the Guinness World Record for “most selfies taken with other world record holders”. Get snapping!

Texas