# Encyclopedia Britannica banned in Texas?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 20, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344 "2006-02-20T17:56:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/1 "2006-02-20T17:56:13Z")
I was just listening to Kojo Nnamdi on the radio and he stated that the entire Encyclopedia Britannica was banned in Texas because it contained a recipe for beer. Snopes was no help, and when I googled, I found a site where people claimed it was a crock, but no definitive cites. I just know there’s a Doper who knows the answer to this, right? What’s the story? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/2 "2006-02-20T18:06:47Z")
Come on, use your common sense. Even Texas doesn’t ban encyclopedias. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/3 "2006-02-20T18:08:09Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I was just listening to Kojo Nnamdi on the radio and he stated that the entire Encyclopedia Britannica was banned in Texas because it contained a recipe for beer. Snopes was no help, and when I googled, I found a site where people claimed it was a crock, but no definitive cites. He was saying it was banned by a single school, right? I don’t find that out of the question (although it would really surprise me if there were a workable beer recipe). Daniel ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/4 "2006-02-20T18:28:36Z")
No he said, and emphasized, that it was banned in the entire state of Texas. I most certainly expect that this is so much nonsense, but what I’d like to do is send him a link disproving his inane comment. I just haven’t hit on the right words to get the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/5 "2006-02-20T18:34:35Z")
You sure he didn’t just mean that they banned that long-haired, blonde, bespectacled kid that did those ads back in the 90s? Because that’s a ban I could get behind. ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/6 "2006-02-20T18:35:42Z")
I was under the impression that all Texas schools had the same books approved or not, so perhaps the entire school system said they would not purchase it for that reason? ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Common\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/7 "2006-02-20T18:44:27Z")
Not as of 2002. [http://www.bannedbooks.info/report.htm](http://www.bannedbooks.info/report.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Common\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/8 "2006-02-20T18:56:29Z")
This list is through 2005. Be aware it is a PDF file. [http://www.aclutx.org/files/ACLUFTX%20Banned%20Books%20Report%202005.pdf](http://www.aclutx.org/files/ACLUFTX%20Banned%20Books%20Report%202005.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/9 "2006-02-20T19:19:50Z")
This stupid “fact” was promoted in _Spy_ magazine in 1996. It may go back further but I couldn’t find any occurance. It gets reprinted in “dumb laws” type books and internet sites. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/10 "2006-02-20T19:24:08Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I was just listening to Kojo Nnamdi on the radio and he stated that the entire Encyclopedia Britannica was banned in Texas because it contained a recipe for beer. Snopes was no help, and when I googled, I found a site where people claimed it was a crock, but no definitive cites. Why the heck would that be grounds for banning the encyclopedia? So far as my research indicates, homebrewing is legal in Texas. (As it is on the federal level–I can’t find any sources that say Texas has its own laws banning home brewing). ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/11 "2006-02-20T20:01:58Z")
I’m thinking he’s yet another radio guy who accepts every email he gets as fact. After all, “they” couldn’t say it if it wasn’t true, right? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/12 "2006-02-20T21:13:47Z")
I was in a public library in Houston, Texas a few weeks ago and saw the Encyclopedia Britannica there. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/13 "2006-02-20T21:19:54Z")
There’s way more reasons in the encyclopedia Brittanica to ban it than just beer. Look up “psychotropic drugs” in the big books. Provided me with a mine of useful information in my less responsible years… ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/14 "2006-02-20T21:25:47Z")
FWIW, we always had several editions in the school library, and Austin currently has several establishments catering to the needs of the home brewer. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/15 "2006-02-20T21:45:17Z")
> [@caveman](#): > > FWIW, we always had several editions in the school library, and Austin currently has several establishments catering to the needs of the home brewer. I helped put together a book list for a new public library in Pharr, Texas 40 years ago. The list included the EB, and the collection was purchased for the new library. I’ve never heard that they were removed or burned, just updated. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/16 "2006-02-21T03:41:14Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Come on, use your common sense. Even Texas doesn’t ban encyclopedias. Sadly, common sense will not always succeed in situations like this. “Come on, it’s 2006. No one still denies that our solar system is heliocentric.” ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/17 "2006-02-21T04:15:31Z")
> [@Mindfield](#): > > You sure he didn’t just mean that they banned that long-haired, blonde, bespectacled kid that did those ads back in the 90s? Because that’s a ban I could get behind. Donavan Freberg? You do know he’s got a porn blog, right? Google creamsicle and blogspot if you want to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/18 "2006-02-21T04:25:07Z")
I was at the mall not too long ago and was accosted by a Bertanica saleman. So it’s definately a crock. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/19 "2006-02-21T04:52:19Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > I was at the mall not too long ago and was accosted by a Bertanica saleman. > > So it’s definately a crock. If you had been accosted by a crack seller, would that mean that crack was legal in Texas? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344/20 "2006-02-21T06:23:59Z")
I was recently at a bus stop in Houston, and there were pictures of famous scientists along with a timeline and their biographies cut in stone and set in bronze for at least 100 feet along the sidewalk, mabey more. I also saw many museums with spectacular collections of artifacts, including the most complete and extensive collection of fossils I have ever seen in any American city. I dont know about the other cities, but Houston and College Station are home to some of the most intelligent and well educated people I have ever met. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopedia-britannica-banned-in-texas/345344.md?page=2)