A San Antonio artist collective sponsored by Hormel Foods built the world’s biggest piñata, a hundred-foot-tall elote filled with 1,920 bags of Corn Nuts.

Six Cuban nationals were indicted in Houston for allegedly trafficking more than three hundred songbirds, which are highly valued by gamblers who bet thousands of dollars on competitions in which birds are judged on the complexity and musicality of their tunes.

After a spear flew through the windshield and into the steering wheel of the car she was driving in Bexar County, a woman promptly called 911 and then phoned her best friend and explained, “Girl, a whole spear just came through my window.”

A Laredo woman was arrested after allegedly spending three years pretending to be a nurse, during which time she provided pediatric care, treated wounds, and trained future nurses. 

A Texas Ranger with a quarter century of law enforcement experience became the first female major in the organization’s two-hundred-year history.

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s well-tanned defense lawyer, Tony Buzbee, accused news organizations of doctoring photosto give his skin a radioactive shade of orange.

A fisherman hauled in a 283-pound alligator gar on a lake near Lufkin, likely breaking a world record set in 1951.

A YouTuber drove a $400,000 red Ferrari F8 through a dry Waco cornfield until a fire began that consumed the car and the minivan filming alongside it, despite one participant’s attempts to extinguish the flames by pouring an energy drink on the engine.   

This article originally appeared in the November 2023 issue of Texas Monthly with the headline “Meanwhile, in Texas.” Subscribe today.