1. Amazon named San Antonio the “Most Romantic City in the U.S.” based on the number of purchases of romance books, movies, and… other products. You go, San Antonio.
2. Then again, it’s illegal to flirt or respond to flirtation using the eyes and/or hands in San Antonio.
3. After relieving himself on the Alamo Cenotaph, Ozzy Osbourne was banned from playing city owned venues for ten years.
4. The one billionth Netflix DVD rental—”Babel,” if you were curious—was rented out to a film lover in a San Antonio suburb.
5. It’s no “Winona Forever” tattoo, but when Johnny Cash met his first wife in San Antonio, he carved “Johnny Loves Vivian” on a public bench near the river.
6. San Antonio has been keeping it cool since 1928, with the first air-conditioned office building in the country, the Milam Building. The first air-conditioned bank, hotel, and Catholic Church followed.
7. One San Antonio native, Robert Cade, knew exactly how to beat the Texas heat and stay hydrated—by inventing Gatorade.
8. San Antonio is the only city in Texas with a knife ban on those with a locking blade.
9. Charles Lindbergh, famous for making the world’s first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, received training at Brooks and Kelly fields in San Antonio.
10. Church’s Chicken, the fourth largest chicken restaurant in the U.S., first opened for business in San Antonio as Church’s Fried Chicken To Go.
11. Mark Twain, one of America’s most famous literary icons, once said, “There are only four unique cities in the United States. New Orleans, San Antonio, Boston, and San Francisco.”
12. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird got hitched in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
13. King of the Delta Blues, AKA Robert Johnson, recorded many of his legendary songs in room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio.
14. Every wonder where Shaquille O’Neal learned to play ball? That’d be at San Antonio’s Cole High School.
15. Theodore Roosevelt recruited his famous Rough Riders in the Menger Hotel, still located in downtown San Antonio.
16. The first commercial Local Area Network (LAN) was invented in San Antonio.
17. Contrary to the popular myth that San Antonio gets 300 days of sun per year, the city is only sunny 60% of the time, or 219 days.
18. Sandra Cisneros, author of the acclaimed novel “The House on Mango Street,” lives in San Antonio’s King William District.
19. Pope John Paul II declared San Antonio as “the most Catholic city in the United States.” Not hard to believe considering the city’s history.
20. A spring of the San Antonio River bubbles out crystal clear drinking water, and once upon a time provided water to Native Americans and early Texas settlers.
21. At 750 feet, San Antonio’s Tower of the Americas is taller than the famous Seattle Space Needle, making it the perfect place to get a panoramic view of the city.
22. Shelly Duvall, best known for her Earth-shaking screams in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” lives in nearby Hill Country.
23. San Antonio’s Stock Show & Rodeo is one of the biggest rodeos in the nation. Yeehaw!
24. The wheels of a Wright Brothers airplane were installed in 1910 at Fort Sam Huston in San Antonio.
25. Actress Summer Glau of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and “Firefly” fame was born in San Antonio.
26. One of the oldest German singing societies in the U.S., the Beethoven Maennerchor, is based in San Antonio.
27. The Buckhorn Saloon and Museum is rumored to be the bar where Pancho Villa planned the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
28. San Pedro Springs Park was founded in the 18th Century, making it the second oldest park in the nation.
29. Bexer County’s Bibliotech is the first library in the country without a single physical book—the collection is completely digital.
30. Tommy Lee Jones resides in the suburbs of San Antonio, where he owns two ranches—one of which served as a set for his film “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.”
31. The Charline McCombs Empire Theater, in operation since 1879, once hosted vaudeville acts and silent pictures, and now hosts concerts, comedians, and performing arts events.
32. Contrary to what you may have learned from “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” the Alamo does indeed have a basement.
33. Scenes showing the Alamo and the River Walk in “Miss Congeniality”were filmed on location.
34. Ann B. Davis, beloved for her role as Alice on “The Brady Bunch,” lived in and recently passed away in San Antonio.
35. San Antonio draws in 30 million visitors per year, most coming to see the Alamo mission.
36. But it’s not all about the Alamo. San Antonio’s second largest attraction, the River Walk, attracts over five million visitors each year.
37. The bell at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, forged by Samuel Maverick, is made of iron scrap from cannons used during the Battle of the Alamo.
38. The Battle of Flowers Parade, first held in 1891 to honor those who fought in the Battle of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, is the only parade in the U.S. that’s planned and directed exclusively by women.
39. San Antonio was the birthplace of legendary Emmy-award winning actress and comedienne, Carol Burnett.
40. The annual Fiesta San Antonio (once The Battle of Flowers parade) is one of the largest parades in the nation, second only to Mardi Gras.
41. In order to ward off bad weather, a Rain Rock is displayed before and during each Fiesta.
42. SeaWorld San Antonio isn’t just the largest SeaWorld chain—it’s the largest marine-life theme park in the entire world.
43. The Payaya, San Antonio’s indigenous people, were required to become Catholic to receive Spanish citizenship, so five Spanish missions were built in larger towns.
44. Four of the five original Spanish missions, excluding the Alamo, are still active Catholic parishes.
45. Joan Crawford, one of the brightest stars in the history of American cinema, was born in San Antonio.
46. The longhorn cattle Texas is so famous for can be traced back to San Antonio’s Spanish mission settlers who brought the cattle with them in 1690.
47. The San Antonio Zoo was one of the first “cageless” zoos in the U.S,, has one of the largest bird collections, and was the first in the country to breed endangered whooping cranes.
48. What would you do if you saw ABC News correspondent and “Primetime” host John Quiñones in his childhood home of San Antonio?
49. The San Antonio Spurs are the only ABA team (absorbed into the NBA in 1976) to win an NBA championship.
50. The San Antonio Museum of Art houses one of the best collections of Asian art in the United States.
What’s your favorite San Antonio fun fact? Tell us in the comments below!
