Florida Facts and Trivia

1. Greater Miami is the only metropolitan area in the United States whose borders encompass two national parks. You can hike through pristine Everglades National Park or ride on glass-bottom boats across Biscayne National Park.
2. Saint Augustine is the oldest European settlement in North America.
3. The name Punta Gorda, which means, "fat point" when translated from Spanish. The moniker was given to the city because a broad part of the land in Punta Gorda juts into Charlotte Harbor. The harbor itself is somewhat unique, as it is the point where the Peace River meets the ocean.
4. Orlando attracts more visitors than any other amusement park destination in the United States.
5. Cape Canaveral is America's launch pad for space flights.
6. Florida is not the southernmost state in the United States. Hawaii is farther south.
7. A museum in Sanibel owns 2 million shells and claims to be the world's only museum devoted solely to mollusks.
8. The Benwood, on French Reef in the Florida Keys, is known as one of the most dived shipwrecks in the world.
9. The United States city with the highest rate of lightning strikes per capita is Clearwater.
10. Gatorade was named for the University of Florida Gators where the drink was first developed.
11. Miami Beach pharmacist Benjamin Green invented the first suntan cream in 1944. He accomplished this development by cooking cocoa butter in a granite coffee pot on his wife's stove.
12. Key West has the highest average temperature in the United States.
13. The Saint John's River is one of the few rivers that flows north instead of south.
14. Miami installed the first bank automated teller machine, especially for rollerbladers.
15. Ybor City was once known as the Cigar Capital of the World with nearly 12,000 habaneros (cigar-makers) employed in 200 factories. Ybor City produced an estimated 700 million cigars a year at the industry's peak.
16. Plant City, the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, holds the Guinness record for the world's largest strawberry shortcake. The 827 square-foot, 6,000-pound cake was made on Feb. 19, 1999, in McCall Park.
17. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a cable-stayed concrete bridge. Opened in 1987 the bridge coasts through the clouds at 190 feet above the water. Its bright yellow support cables spread from the two center pillars. The structure gives drivers an unobstructed view of the water during the 4.1 mile trip over Tampa Bay.
18. Nearly 80 percent of the state's intake of sweet Atlantic white shrimp is harvested in Amelia Island waters. Two million pounds of shrimp are delivered to Fernandina docks annually.
19. A swamp such as the Fakahatchee Strand in the Everglades functions in three major ways. First, its vegetation serves as a filter to clean the water as it makes its slow journey southward. Secondly, it's a major habitat for wildlife and plant life. Finally, it actually prevents flooding by slowing down the flow of water after heavy rains.
20. DeFuniak Springs is home to one of the two naturally round lakes in the world.
21. Islamorada is billed as the Sports fishing Capital of the World.
22. Key Largo is known as the Dive Capital of the World.
23. Marathon is home to Crane Point Hammock, a 63.5-acre land tract that is one of the most important historical and archaeological sites in the Keys. The area contains evidence of pre-Colombian and prehistoric Bahamian artifacts, and once was the site of an entire Indian village.
24. Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West was built between 1845 and 1866. Controlled by the Union during the Civil War, the fort was the home base for a successful blockade of Confederate ships that some historians say shortened the conflict by a full year. The fort also was active during the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II.
25. Venice is known as the Shark Tooth Capital of the World. Collecting prehistoric sharks teeth has been a favorite pastime of visitors and residents of the Venice area for years
26. The Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin American Art in Coral Gables is the first and only museum in the United States dedicated to the preservation, diffusion, and promotion of Hispanic and Latin American Art.
27. The Pinellas Trail, a 47-mile hiking/biking trail connecting St. Petersburg with Central and north Pinellas County, is the longest urban linear trail in the eastern United States.
28. Titusville, known as Space City, USA, is located on the west shore of the Indian River directly across from the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
29. Florida is the only state that has 2 rivers both with the same name. There is a Withlacoochee in north-central Florida (Madison County) and a Withlacoochee in central Florida. They have nothing in common except the name.