Dallas, Fort Worth Not The Craziest

By Elvira Sakmari 
NBC5 - KXAS-TV 
Updated 4:56 PM CDT, Wed, Mar 17, 2010 

Think everyone around you is crazy? Some of them might be, but Dallas and Fort Worth did not rank high among the craziest cities,according to The Daily Beast. 

The Web site ranked America's 57 largest metropolitan areas on four criteria: psychiatrists per capita, stress, eccentricity and drinking levels. 

We can't find anything that makes this a scientific study, just something that's fun to read. 

In at No. 38 is Dallas, with 49 shrinks per capita, 40 on the stress scale, 17 on eccentricity and tied at 22 on drinking. 

When it comes to local (crazy) color, The Daily Beast points to the World's Largest Patio Chair which found its home in Dallas after organizers of the 5-foot-6-inch chair's world tour were forced to abandon it because it was too hard to move. We question the chair being attributed to us however -- doesn't that really mean someone else parked their crazy chair in our backyard? If you've never seen it, the chair lives at Sunnyland Patio Furniture at the northwest corner of Spring Valley and Coit roads.

Fort Worth ranked next to last at No. 56, with 54 psychiatrists per capita, 47 on the stress meter, 22 on the eccentricity scale and 54 in drinking.

"I would say Fort Worth is doing pretty well as far as mental health is concerned," said Dr. John Naus, a psychiatrist with Texas Health Springwood. 

"It's a lot saner than it was back in the old Western days, that's for sure," said Cowtown native Peggy Dulaney. 

But not every in Fort Worth agrees with The Daily Beast's asssessment. 

"Tell them to come look at me," said Valentine Frias, a former construction worker dressed as Lady Liberty. 

Frias, who drums up business for a tax service at the corner of North Main Street and Northside Drive, said Fort Worth should be at the top of the list. 

"Fort Worth's a crazy little city," Frias said. "It's a nice place to be. It's one of the craziest places I've been in, anyways." 

The Daily Beast gave a shoutout to the home of George "Machine Gun Kelly" Barnes, a popular offbeat stop for tourists. 

In case you aren't a tourist but now curious, the house is at 857 W. Mulkey St. Kelly lived there in 1933. That year, he and his wife kidnapped Charles Urschel (Oklahoma oil millionaire) and held him for $200,000 ransom. After they got their money, they dropped him off in Norman, Okla., and headed to Memphis,Tenn., where they were arrested and sent to prison. 

By the way, Austin, whose locals revel in the city's "Keep Austin Weird" brand, ranked No. 12 with 33 shrinks, a stress level of 46, a three on the eccentricity scale and one in drinking. 

First on the list was Cincinnati; last on the list was Salt Lake City. 

More: "America's Craziest Cities" at The Daily Beast 

NBC DFW's Kevin Cokely contributed to this report. 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-03-11/americas-25-craziest-cities/full/