165 Funny Facts About Florida To Make You Want To Visit The State

This state is one of the liveliest states of America and statistically ranks second as one of the fastest growing states of America.

Florida has a number of national parks, golf courses, more than 7,000 lakes and not to forget the world-famous Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The urban development of Florida has not had a negative effect on the state's wildlife with a large variety of birds, trees, and both alligators, as well as, crocodiles found within the state.

Another one of the many Florida facts is that it is the flattest state in the United States.

It is located in the south-east of the United States bordered by the Gulf of Mexico on its western part. Florida also has a number of beaches as it has the Atlantic Ocean to its east along with the Bahamas.

The majority of Florida, about two-thirds, occupies a peninsular area lying between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

On the economic front, Florida has the fourth-largest economy in the US when compared with all the other states.

The main contributors are tourism, agriculture, transportation, hospitality, and real estate. Adding to the list of fun facts about Florida, as of January 22, 2021, a total of $3.22 billion of the total state sales tax collections was brought in by the tourism sector.

Florida has a lot of variety in terms of places to visit and things to do.

Tourists have multiple options ranging from visiting Disney World in Orlando, Florida's peninsula, the ever lively Daytona beach to visiting Naples along the Gulf of Mexico and spending some quality time at St Petersburg for those who enjoy art and history.

On the demographic front, Florida is the third most populous state of the United States with a total population of around 21 million. Within the state, Jacksonville is considered as the largest city with a population of 903,880 but it is Miami which is the most populous urban area of the state with a population of 6.2 million.

The state's capital is Tallahassee, some of the other significant cities of the state are Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa Bay, and Jacksonville.

Did you know that it is named after the Spanish festival 'Pascua Florida' meaning 'the festival of flowers'? Within the state boundaries of Florida, you can also find the oldest city of the United States which goes by the name of St Augustine and was founded way back in 1565.

Let us now delve deeper into the topic and look for more fun facts about the state of Florida.

If you enjoyed this article, why not also read about Florida agriculture factsandFlorida economy facts here on Kidadl?

Wildlife Facts About Florida

Many of you might not be aware but about millions of years ago, the land that we now signify as Florida was underwater.

When North America split from Pangea somewhere around 200 million years ago, the city of Florida went underwater in the Atlantic Ocean and emerged only after there was some glacier formation, reducing the water levels.

This is one of the main reasons why locals still find fossilized shark teeth near some of the beaches as at one point it was all underwater and infested with sharks.

Florida's wildlife history is one of the best in the United States as it is rich in not only water but also land, flora, and fauna.

Before we talk about the animals found in Florida, how common it is to spot them, and how their encounters with people living in Florida have led to comic events which can be found on the internet, we will look at the the rich flora of the state.

Florida is alone responsible for almost three-fourth production of the country's supply of citrus, and at the same time, Florida is only just behind the world leader Brazil when it comes to the global production of juice.

The fertile plain lands of Florida play a key role in producing such large quantities of food items. The state of Florida also tops the production charts in the US for tomatoes, cucumbers, snap beans, squash, grapefruit, and even sugarcane.

Here is one of many fun facts about Florida for you: 50% of the tree species that are found in the entire United States, grow in Florida.

Moving on to the wildlife found in the state of Florida, you have heard about the collective sightings of the American alligator, as well as, its cousins, crocodiles throughout the state, and at times, even in urban areas.

However, did you know that Florida houses over 500 recorded species of birds? We know that throughout Florida you can spot both alligators, as well as, crocodiles but there is only one place, the Florida Everglades, where you can spot both these animals at the same time.

It is a unique experience and the only place to offer this in the entire world.

Florida Keys are tropical islands that are about 120 mi (193 km) from the tip of Florida. This area is known for its coral reefs and is a popular snorkelling destination. These are the only coral reefs in the whole of North America.

One of the fun facts about Florida is its underwater population of manatees or sea cows. Manatees are fairly harmless animals who are also friendly with humans but it is recommended that people do not go very close to them.

What are some funny things in Florida?

We have all heard about the ancient history of Florida, its varied wildlife, amusement parks, and also its many lakes and springs. At the same time, there are some peculiar and weird facts about Florida that are unmatched. Let us take a look at some of Florida's funny things.

The Carrabelle city in Florida has the smallest police station in the world, it is the size of an old telephone booth, not a lot of case files in that department it seems!

This fact might be obvious but is still amazing. At any point in time in Florida, wherever you are, you won't be more than 60 mi (96 km) away from one of Florida's ocean beaches.

Living close to many beaches is one of the many reasons why people live Florida. However, at the same time, it also raises questions about tidal waves.

In Florida, it is illegal for unmarried women to go sky diving on a Sunday. If you fall under this category and attempt to skydive on a Sunday, you can either be sent to jail or might have to pay a hefty fine.

Another strange but funny law that prevails in Florida is you cannot sing in public if you are wearing swimwear.

Additionally, did you know that the world-famous energy drink, Gatorade, which is used by so many sports teams all over the world was first developed in Florida? Due to this reason, it gets its name from the University of Florida's football team named the Gators.

Did you know that every year the Flora-Bama Beach Bar in Pensacola hosts the Annual Mullet Toss where quite a number of Floridians come together at the state line to sling dead fish into Alabama. This bar, interestingly, is partly in Alabama and partly in Florida. Just another one of those Florida things that makes this state so unique.

There is only a difference of only 345 ft (105 m) between the highest and lowest points of Florida, no wonder it is the flattest state of the United States.

In Florida's southwest region, there is a city named Cape Coral where it is not legal to park a pick-up truck in front of your own house or even in their own driveway.

What is Florida famous for?

Florida is a tourist's paradise, it has everything a person looks for during a vacation. It has the serene beaches of Naples, the history and art in the city of Fort Lauderdale, St Petersburg.

The children's favorite Disney World and spotting wildlife in the numerous national parks are also great places to visit. Florida also has the World Golf Hall of Fame in the city of St Augustine. It is a dream come true for golf lovers to visit this place.

It is especially Orlando, the central Florida region which is the complete package for tourists, which attracts around 6 million people every year owing to its wide range of attractions. Apart from Disney World, which ranks eighth in the top 10 most visited places in the world, Orlando is also famous for the Universal Studios amusement park.

This amusement park offers some great rides and also has some recreated movie sets from some of the most famous movies and TV shows. It is a great family place to visit.

The golf courses, the shopping malls, and an electrifying top of the experience of visiting Florida for people belonging to any age group, whether with friends or with family. The Sunshine State is also home to the renowned Kennedy Space Center.

There are special tours here that provide you with special access to some of the historic launch sites, rockets, and the space shuttle Atlantis.

Now if you prefer a much more calming and relaxing vacation, you can go for the Miami beach which provides an experience different from all other kinds of beaches owing to the restored buildings which have the '30s or '40s theme depicting the art and culture of Miami.

You still haven't ventured into the wildlife experience of Florida! The Everglades National Park in Florida spreads across an area of 1,500,000 acres (607,028.5 ha) is the only place in the world where you can find an alligator and a crocodile. You can also find deer, Florida panthers, turtles, and manatees within this national park.

Some of the other places for which Florida is extensively famous include Daytona 500 International Speedway, SeaWorld in Orlando, Dry Tortugas National Park, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

Jokes About Florida

Florida is called the Sunshine State, but in reality, there isn't a lot of sunshine. However, it is awfully hot in Florida. There are many jokes about the hot weather of Florida, its large population, relatively high crime rate, and some political ones too. Let us look at some of the best Florida jokes.

Jokes about the Florida's temperature are a classic. A couple of famous ones are, 'Florida is so hot that people crowd around the fire to cool down' or 'Florida is so hot that when one dies and goes to hell, they wake up in Boca Raton'.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked these 165 funny facts about Florida to make you want to visit the state, then why not take a look at poisonous spiders in Florida or geckos in Florida?