Key Limes were considered a weed until The Great Freeze of 1894–95 destroyed Florida’s lemon groves. Farmers replanted “Mexican” limes and they became known as “Florida Key Limes, a beloved regional crop”.
Florida
New Mexico was the original Sunshine State…
New Mexico was the original Sunshine State, unofficially using the slogan prior to statehood in 1912 and eventually adding it to their state license plates in 1932. However, they never made anything official, and Florida managed to adopt an official resolution and steal the slogan in 1970.
When the Union abandoned a fort in Florida…
When the Union abandoned a fort in Florida, they left behind a single soldier as caretaker. When the Confederacy marched on the fort, the lone soldier refused to surrender without a receipt for the fort. He received one, and the fort was taken without a shot fired.
After all the local swans were eaten…
After all the local swans were eaten by alligators a Florida woman wrote to Queen Elizabeth for assistance. The Queen provided two royal Swans. The swans alive in Lakeland today are their direct descendants.
Fireworks are totally illegal…
Fireworks are totally illegal in Florida, but are sold to ordinary people in huge quantities via hundreds of stores across the state to anyone who signs a waiver saying they’re for agricultural use to scare birds away from crops.
A Florida man tossed an alligator through…
A Florida man tossed an alligator through a drive-thru window. He was charged with “assault with a deadly weapon.”
The Mayor of Lake Worth, FL swam across the Lake Worth Lagoon…
The Mayor of Lake Worth, FL swam across the Lake Worth Lagoon in 1998 to raise awareness of how dirty it had become. After completing the swim, he spent three days in the hospital and nearly died.
There’s a resort near Disney World that is just for kids…
There’s a resort near Disney World that is just for kids with terminal illness and their families. There is no waiting list and they won’t turn away any child. It was started by a Holocaust survivor.
A statue of ‘homeless Jesus’ sleeping on a bench was installed…
A statue of ‘homeless Jesus’ sleeping on a bench was installed in Orlando where the homeless are banned from sleeping on benches.
In 1994 a 75-pound bag of cocaine fell out of a plane…
In 1994 a 75-pound bag of cocaine fell out of a plane and landed in the middle of a Florida crime watch meeting.