Is the Encyclopedia Britannica Banned in Texas?
You might have stumbled across those "Dumb Laws in Texas" articles that state various odd, weird, and dumb laws that are still on the books here in the Lone Star State.
As a matter of fact, I've even written a piece or two about these crazy laws. However, I came across a couple (that weren't mine) that claimed the Encyclopedia Britannica was banned in Texas because it had a recipe for brewing beer in it.
That struck me as odd but didn't surprise me considering some of the other laws here in Texas. So, I dug a little deeper to find out what was going on with this claim.
Is the Encyclopedia Britannica Banned in Texas?
The short answer is "no, it's not banned here in Texas".
Over the years, we’ve unleashed our crack researchers on this persistent urban legend, and not only have we been unable to uncover anything resembling a beer recipe in any edition of Britannica, we also can’t even determine the origins of the rumor. [Web.Archive.Org]
After even more research, I can (almost) confirm this isn't true nor has it ever been true.
No idea how this rumor started, but since everything is bigger in Texas, it appears so are the myths.
So while it may be illegal to milk someone else's cow, it is totally legal to have that big ol' set of books in your house. Seriously, if homebrewing is legal here, then why would a book that supposedly has a recipe for beer be illegal?
Just something to make you think.