HOUSTON — At Houston's Livestock Show and Rodeo, Texans like to indulge.
More than 2.4 million (2,408,550) people soaked up last year's event. And all those people scarfed down so many tasty calories. That includes more than 125,000 turkey legs, 80,000 funnel cakes, 45,000 tamales and nearly 30,000 barbecue sandwiches. More than 365,000 deep fried oreos are consumed too. All of that is nearly 550 million calories.
To burn those extra calories, people enjoyed more than 2.7 million amusement rides. 14,000-plus chose to ride a camel, and almost 19,000 little cowboys and cowgirls went for a pony ride.
At the livestock show, 61 piglets were born, along with 14 calves and 13 lambs.
But it's the rodeo and concert that steals the show every year. Last year, more than 1.3 million (1,346,388) people attended concerts. Garth Brooks smashed all-time rodeo records with 75,577 people in attendance at his closeout show. This year promises to break even more records when George Strait takes the stage for his 30th performance at RodeoHouston.