Florida residents love their state.
True, there are some things we don’t like. Constantly refreshing the National Hurricane Center’s website six months a year really stinks.
And we confess weren’t not really fans of the humidity and “feels-like” temps well above 100 for, um, about 10 months of the year. The tradeoff are the bragging rights as the rest of the United States shivers and complains about snow and ice. What’s a snow shovel? we ask, as we get excited and share photos of snowflakes falling.
But we enjoy how unique Florida is, and here are 10 amazing facts to share with family and friends as we look forward to the end of the year for “iguana-dropping” temps!
1. Florida is the only place in world where alligators, crocodiles live together
South Florida is the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators co-exist, according to the National Park Service.
The American alligator can be found in every Florida county and throughout the southeastern United States.
American crocodiles inhabit coastal areas of South Florida, where they are at the northern extreme of their range.
The area of overlap is part of what makes Florida special.
2. Florida is the only state to have an embassy in Washington, D.C.
Florida is the only U.S. state that maintains its own embassy in Washington, D.C.
Known as the Florida House on Capitol Hill, the privately funded, non-profit Victorian-style row house operates as an educational and informational center. The building is located across from the U.S. Supreme Court.
➤ Does Florida actually have an embassy in Washington, D.C.?
“We’ve been Floridians’ home away from home for over 50 years,” according to its website.
“We work to connect Floridians to Washington, D.C., and vice versa through educational, cultural, economic, and social resources that engage students, visitors, guests, our Congressional Delegation, Floridians and Floridians-at-Heart.”
Approximately 10,000 guests visit the house each year.
3. Florida is the flattest state in US
Florida holds the title of the flattest state in America, according to worldpopulation review.
Its highest natural point, Britton Hill in Florida’s Panhandle, stands at only 345 feet above sea level, according to the Center for Land Use Interpretation, making it the “lowest high point” in the entire United States.
As Visit Florida puts it: “Your grandmother can get to the top without breaking a sweat”
You’ll love this to put Florida’s high point in perspective: the Air Traffic Control Tower at Orlando International Airport is — you guessed it — 345 feet tall.
4. Smallest post office in US found in Florida
The smallest post office in the United States can be found in Ochopee, in Southwest Florida.
Look fast if you’re driving by.
The building is only 61.3 square feet, according to the Postal Service.
How big is that? About 10 feet by 6 feet.
5. St. Petersburg, Florida, holds world record for most consecutive days of sunshine
While Florida — aka the Sunshine State — doesn’t hold the world record with the sunniest city, we do have the city that holds a Guinness World Record when it comes to sunny days.
St. Petersburg holds the Guinness World Record for the city with the longest consecutive days of sunshine.
How long? That would be 768 days, from Feb. 9, 1967, to March 17 1969.
So its nickname of the “Sunshine City” and average of 361 sunny days per year is probably OK.
6. Speaking of sun. First sunblock invented in Miami
Protecting ourselves from the sun is nothing new but we’ve come a long way from slathering rice bran on our skins like the Egyptians did in 3000 BC.
Over the years, the variety of sun protection was only limited by imagination and ranged from covering your face with velvet or using cosmetics containing lead or even using quinine, according to the National Library of Medicine.
In 1942, the Army Air Force approached the American Medical Association Council of Pharmacy and Chemistry for a “top secret experiment” to study the most effective protective substances to prevent sunburn of men stranded in the desert or on life rafts, according to the National Library of Medicine.
“They found that dark red veterinary petroleum is the ingredient that possesses all of their desired qualities: waterproof, inexpensive, and free of toxicity.”
In 1944, pharmacist Benjamin Green, who served as an airman during World War II and and used the red petroleum called Red Vet Pet while stationed in the South Pacific, returned home to Miami after the war, where he “developed a more pleasing, consumer-friendly version of the product by adding cocoa butter and coconut oil, a combination that eventually becomes the Coppertone suntan lotion,” according to the National Library of Medicine and americacomesalive.
So now the only people who are bright red are those forget to apply their sunscreen!
7. Two time zones? One city? No problem!
Florida has two time zones, eastern and central. Gulf County, in Florida’s Panhandle, has the distinction of being in both Eastern and Central times zones.
Of the state’s 67 counties, nine counties operate totally under Central Time and the rest are under Eastern Time, with one exception: Gulf County.
➤ So you think you know Florida? Have fun with this quiz
It’s the only county in the state with two time zones, which it embraces with a sense of humor.
“When visiting, it’s best to manually set your clocks to either Central or Eastern. However, if you forget, keep in mind Gulf County is a “no worry, no hurry” destination with a laid-back atmosphere and slow pace so if you are a little late, or a little early that’s okay too!” according to VisitGulf.com.
8. Jacksonville, Florida, largest city in US
Jacksonville, in square miles, is the largest city in the contiguous United States, with 747 square miles, according to thelistwire.usatoday.com.
We had to limit it to the contiguous U.S. since the top four cities are all located in Alaska, with Jacksonville coming in fifth in the entire U.S.
How much bigger is No. 1 compared to Jacksonville? (We heard you asking.)
Sitka, Alaska, is 2,870 square miles, almost four times larger, according to thelistwire.usatoday.com.
9. Want to swim with wild manatees?
Crystal River is the only place in North America where it is legal to have a supervised swim with wild manatees, according to visitflorida.
“Nowhere else will you find more manatees than here in Crystal River, Homosassa, and the waters of Florida’s Citrus County,” according to Discover Crystal River, which called it the Manatee Capital of the World.
“Each winter between 500 and 1000 manatees are drawn here by three first magnitude spring systems, each with a constant temperature of 72 to 74 degrees. Even in the warm summer months, up to 100 manatees remain here all year. ”
10. World’s first scheduled passenger airline service took off in Florida
The world’s first scheduled passenger airline service operated between St. Petersburg and Tampa.
On Jan. 1, 1914, “the world’s first scheduled passenger airline service took off from St. Petersburg and landed at its destination in Tampa,” according to space.com.
The distance? Eighteen miles, according to the Friends of Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg. The short flight across the bay to Tampa took 23 minutes, which was much better than the two-hour steamship journey or the 12-hour trip by train or car.
We guess there was no food service, though. Well, there was only room for the pilot and one passenger. Did we mention this plane had pontoons and took off from near what’s known as St. Petersburg Pier and landed near the entrance of the Hillsborough River in Tampa?
The first paying passenger was Abram C. Pheil, former mayor of St. Petersburg, who won the seat through an auction with a bid of $400, according to the Friends of Albert Whitted Airport.
“The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was a short-lived endeavor — only four months — but it paved the way for today’s daily transcontinental flights.”
More amazing things about Florida
Florida’s Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park is the only state park certified by the International Dark-Sky Association.
Florida has more than 7,700 lakes, 11,000 miles of rivers, 2,276 miles of tidal shoreline, and the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, with 825 miles of accessible beaches to enjoy. No matter where you are, you’re never farther than 60 miles from water
Florida’s largest river, the St. Johns River, is one of only a few major rivers that flow from south to north.
Florida has more than 1,200 golf courses, more than any other U.S. state.
Florida is the theme park epicenter of the world. Seven of the 10 most visited theme parks are in Florida.
Florida was named for the day on which it was first seen (April 2, 1513) by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, who called it La Florida in honor of Pascua Florida, the Spanish Feast of the Flowers (Easter).
Florida has 26 officially designated scenic highways, and seven of them run parallel to the Atlantic Ocean.
Pelican Island is the site of America’s first national wildlife refuge.
Florida is similar in size to England and Wales combined.
During the British occupation from 1763 to 1783, Florida was divided into two colonies: East Florida and West Florida. The capital of East Florida was St. Augustine. The capital of West Florida was Pensacola.
Florida’s largest county is Palm Beach, with 2,578 square miles, according to the Florida Department of State. In comparison, Duval County is about 875 square miles, although it does have the largest city — Jacksonville — by land area in the contiguous U.S.
Did any enemy agents land in Florida during World War II? On June 17, 1942, four German saboteurs paddled ashore at Ponte Vedra Beach on a rubber raft from a submarine. They were later captured with four other German agents.
Tallahassee was the only Confederate state capital east of the Mississippi River that was not captured by Union forces.
Cheryl McCloud is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://heraldtribune.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 10 surprising facts that make Florida unique
Reporting by Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
