History Main / OnlyInFlorida

Also check out OnlyInMiami, which is about the city, rather than the state..

* When AdamCarolla was hosting {{Loveline}}, they played a game called "Germany or Florida", where listeners would call in with weird news stories and the hosts would have to guess whether it took place in Germany or Florida.

Often used [[AccentuateTheNegative negatively]] as a NoTrueScotsman fallacy, in which someone says something negative "can only be done in Florida", [[{{Hypocrite}} regardless if any other part of the country or the world]] [[NotSoDifferent can or has been subjected to it]].

* "The Hoodrat Kid" Lived in Palm Beach, Florida when he decide to take his grandma's car for a joyride. (Note: The child was 7 year-old).
* A fire breakout in the kitchen while the owner was in the bathroom. Instead of running and exiting out the front door, what he did? Made a hole through his bathroom walls to escape (which wasn't necessary).

* An episode of PennAndTeller's ''[[PennAndTellerBullshit Bullshit]]''on the subject was planned before the 2007/2008 WGA strike.

* Anchorage, Alaska radio [=DJs=] Woody and Wilcox cover this daily in the "It Happened in Florida" segment; three recent news stories are presented, all real. Of the three, two are subversions, sounding like things that happened in Florida, but not actually occuring there. The calling guest who finds the straight example gets some prizes.

* British streetlighting making an appearance in Fort Myers - namely the [[http://www.wrtl.co.uk/product-range/road-and-amenity/arc WRTL Arc]], as recently as November 2008, before being removed after a short period of time. Apparently these must have been imported since WRTL don't export to America currently...

* ''DistortedView'', a {{podcast}} created to present interesting and disgusting things that happen in the news each day, has a special sound clip that plays whenever a news story occurs in Florida, "Our most fucked-up state."
* [[{{Fark}} Fark.com]] has, along with such categories as "Interesting", "Cool", "Asinine", "Scary", and "Weird", a category named "Florida".
** Note that Drew Curtis has commented on this in his book. To paraphrase: California news gets no reaction because "Oh, it's just those crazy hippies." No one expects weird news from Florida. After reading all the examples though one has to wonder why. It's a massive tourist state with alligators. Stupid people plus giant reptiles. How bad could it be?

* [[TheManShow Adam Carolla]] of ''Loveline'' had a feature called "Germany or Florida?" where a weird story would be read off and the hosts would guess which of those two places it occurred in.
** Germany's reputation is well-deserved; it's one of the most common locations for such stories on TheBBC radio show ''It's Been A Bad Week''.

* The ''Miami Herald'' has a news category called [[http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weird-news/index.html Weird News]].
* Fort Lauderdale newspaper the ''Sun-Sentinel's'' weird news blog, aptly titled [[http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/specials/weirdflorida/blog/ Floriduh]]''. Their slogan?
-->"We've all been out in the sun too long."
** Also see the ''St. Petersburg Times'' "[[http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/bizarre/ Bizarre Florida]]" blog.
* Chuck Shepherd, writer of [[http://www.newsoftheweird.com/ News of the Weird]] column, simply calls it the "F State."
* ''TheDailyShow'': A "10 F#@king Years" segment was devoted solely to Florida stories.
-->"But without tacky shit on your lawn, how does anyone know they're in Florida?"
* An episode of PennAndTeller's ''[[PennAndTellerBullshit Bullshit]]''on the subject was planned before the 2007/2008 WGA strike.
* Anchorage, Alaska radio [=DJs=] Woody and Wilcox cover this daily in the "It Happened in Florida" segment; three recent news stories are presented, all real. Of the three, two are subversions, sounding like things that happened in Florida, but not actually occuring there. The calling guest who finds the straight example gets some prizes.

* The off-topic section of the [=NeoGAF=] forums frequently tags weird news stories with a guessing game - does the weird news story happen in [[FunWithAcronyms Germany, Australia or Florida]]?
* "Accidental human deaths in Florida" is a separate category on Wikipedia.
* In the MarvelUniverse, Florida plays home to the Nexus of All Realities, a multiversal intersection that leads to high weirdness.
* Cenk from TheYoungTurks comments on this often.

* ''What the Fuck Is Wrong With You'', recently picked up by ThatGuyWithTheGlasses, features stories about the general crazy that is Florida on a OnceAnEpisode basis. One of the early episodes was even made up entirely of Florida stories. The title? "The Wang of America."

<<|NewsTropes|>>

* AdamCarolla of ''Loveline'' had a feature called "Germany or Florida?" where a weird story would be read off and the hosts would guess which of those two places it occurred in.

* ''What the Fuck Is What Wrong With You'', recently picked up by ThatGuyWithTheGlasses, features stories about the general crazy that is Florida on a OnceAnEpisode basis. One of the early episodes was even made up entirely of Florida stories. The title? "The Wang of America."

* Voters pass a law making the wearing of baggy pants a criminal offense that may cost you up to $150 and 60 days in jail? Florida.
** Just as baggy pants were [[OldMediaPlayingCatchUp starting to go out of style]], one might add, extending the fashion for at least another year...

It should be noted, prior to the paper folding, that the ''WeeklyWorldNews'' was based in South Florida. (Incidentally, its building was one of the targets of the 2001 anthrax-mail attack, though addressed to its sister publication, the ''NationalEnquirer'').

'''It should be noted that while some Floridians laugh along with this sort of "joke", others find this trope utterly insulting.'''

* In Florida, it is illegal (Re: an elected official took the time to draft a bill that the state legislature voted on to make it so) for an unmarried woman to skydive on Sunday.

When reading a "[[LuridTalesOfDoom News of the Weird]]" site, it has been noticed that Florida has more than its fair share of weird stories. Some of them even [[LampshadeHanging hang a lampshade]] with a "Florida" tag, as seen below.

'''It should be noted that while some Floridians laugh along with this sort of "joke", most find this trope utterly insulting.'''

It should be noted, prior to the paper folding, that the ''WeeklyWorldNews'' was based in South Florida. (Incidentally, its building was one of the targets of the 2001 anthrax-mail attack, though addressed to its sister publication, the ''National Enquirer'').

* DistortedView, a Podcast created to present interesting and disgusting things that happen in the news each day, has a special sound clip that plays whenever a news story occurs in Florida, "Our most fucked-up state."

* Carl Hiaasen: Apart from reporting on real Florida, he writes lurid but not really exaggerated fiction about it.
* Adam Carolla of ''Love Line'' had a feature called ''Germany or Florida?'' where a weird story would be read off and the hosts would guess which of those two places it occurred in.

* DaveBarry, the Miami-based humorist. He is not making these things up.

* An episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit on the subject was planned before the 2007/2008 WGA strike.

* A fantastic example is in the works of PiersAnthony, who depicts his Xanth series in a land that is the size/shape/geological make-up of Florida.

* The town of Lauderhill, Florida invited James Earl Jones to speak at a [[CivilRightsMovement Martin Luther King Jr.]] celebration, and sought to give him a plaque to commemorate the occasion. [[EpicFail Only for the plaque to come back honoring James Earl]] '''[[EpicFail Ray]]''', ''the man who assassinated King.'' [[http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/mlkday.asp Pics here.]]

A lot of talented writers (DaveBarry, CarlHiassen) work for newspapers in Florida, which is perhaps why so much is known about the state's quirks. The state has a number of excellent newspapers, largely the result of its strong sunshine (read: transparency in government) laws.

And that's just from one day's worth of news in the Persistent Vegetative State. Quite literally one day's worth of news: All the above are summaries of {{Fark}} items from March 12, 2008 [[BerserkButton Don't get us started on the 2000 Presidential election either]]. It should be noted that while some Floridians laugh along with this sort of "joke", most find this trope utterly insulting. This may be one of the causes of Florida's current population loss- in 2008, for the first time in over a century, more people moved ''out'' than moved ''in''. Considering that development and housing construction are such a major sector that the state's entire economy has been described as a giant {{Ponzi}} scheme, that's a ''problem''.

A lot of talented writers (Dave Barry, Carl Hiassen) work for newspapers in Florida, which is perhaps why so much is known about the state's quirks. The state has a number of excellent newspapers, largely the result of its strong sunshine (read: transparency in government) laws.