The Impossible Question

Austinites weigh in as Texas and Florida battle over which state is crazier

Is Texas crazier than Florida?

If you watch the news cycle closely, you will undoubtledy begin to notice that the truly insane stories, the ones that involve flesh-eating men on bath salts, abusive polygamist cults and potato salad-induced assaults, all happen in Florida. And if they don't happen in Florida, then there is a very good chance they happen in Texas.

This week, the question of which state is crazier echoed throughout the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol, where two lawmakers, one from Florida, the other from Texas, got into a verbal altercation about the issue.

The two congressmen, Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), were taking part in a subcomittee on repealing the Affordable Care Act when they got into a verbal sparring match. (To be fair, Florida threw the first punch.)

"I don't know about in [Texas], which I think is a crazy state to begin with, and I mean that just as I said it," said Hastings, who then said he wouldn't live in Texas "for all the tea in China."

Outraged, Burgess countered, "There is no reason at all to impugn the people, the Governor of [a] state [in] this country and I will await the gentleman's apology," said Burgess.

"You will wait until hell freezes over," said Hastings. Burn!

While it's impossible to know which state is "crazier" (it's Florida), that hasn't stopped local CBS affiliate KEYE-TV from riling everyone up on Facebook. Asking which state is crazier as its "Friday Fun" post, the station's super "fun" question elicited some not so fun responses. "Florida is the crazier one. They are the dung of America!!" writes one fun-loving commenter.

"Florida already caught up to the rest of the country and is recognizing the freedom to marry. Is Texas? No they're still backward and threatening to throw a cow if they have to by withholding the salaries of county clerks who do," counters another. The thread then somehow devolves into a racist dialogue proving once and for all that comment sections are the worst.

As for this age old question, much like the licks needed to get the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop, the world may never know.

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Meteor News

How to see the Draconid meteor shower in Austin this week

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Meteor shower

A meteor shower will be visible from most of North America, including Austin, during the week of October 6-10.

The Draconid meteor shower – also called the Giacobinids – was predicted to produce the most meteor activity on the night of October 7 and through the early hours of October 8, but there is still time to catch the tail end.

There will still be sightings on subsequent nights, stargazing experts say.

According to EarthSky, a cool website devoted to all things starry, the Draconids will be visible right after it gets dark, rather than the more common early morning hours most meteor showers are visible.

The best time will be just after sunset, until around midnight. Viewers won't have to stay up until the crack of dawn.

Helping to make the meteor even more visible is a waxing moon, barely a crack, which will cast less light and keep the sky darker overall.

EarthSky says that the meteors are radiating from two stars known as the Dragon’s Eyes, called Eltanin and Rastaban, found in the constellation Draco. Which is located in between the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.

However, the meteor shower will be visible across the sky.

The shower is dubbed a "sleeper" in that it produces only a handful of meteors — 10 per hour. But they move slower, so the duration of each streak of light sometimes lasts longer — one to two seconds, rather than a rapid flash.

Meteor showers consist of debris left behind by comets and asteroids, which throw off bits of rock and ice as they orbit the sun. The Draconids are the result of Earth passing through this trail from the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The comet completes an orbit of the sun about every seven years, and according to CNN, the last time it got this close to Earth was in September, 2018.

The best way to see it is to find a place that's far from artificial light, then lie on your back and look up at the sky with a wide view. No special equipment is needed.

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The Impossible Question

Austinites weigh in as Texas and Florida battle over which state is crazier

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How to see the Draconid meteor shower in Austin this week

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