History Main / OnlyInFlorida

* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'', Tommy Vercetti, a mobster from [[BigApplesauce Liberty City]], frequently snarks about the weirdness and stupidity around him. At least part of it has to do with him [[FishOutOfTemporalWater having just been released from prison after fifteen years]], though -- he's confounded as to how a [[ParallelPornTitles porno parody]] of [[Film/{{Jaws}} a movie about a killer shark]] can be popular.

* Kenny of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'' fame comes from Florida, and [[InvokedTrope invokes this trope]] after he wonders if Lee, a black man, can pick locks.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean'' (Part 6 of the series overall) takes place in the Sunshine State in 2011 and is widely regarded as [[SerialEscalation one of the weirder parts]] of the series. After all, only Florida would play host to such events as a prison escape with invisible zombies, [[RefugeeFromTVLand fictional characters]] [[MageInManhattan coming to life]], "rods"[[labelnote:*]]visual artifacts in photographs that don't exist in real life[[/labelnote]] capable of absorbing body heat being weaponized, and ''rainbows that turn people into snails via subliminal messaging''. The protagonist group is no slouch either, consisting of: a former [[TheLadette delinquent]] who can [[KnowsTheRopes unravel parts of her body into strings]], a HotBlooded prison veteran who can duplicate items via attaching stickers to them, a young boy born in prison that can use "ghost objects"[[labelnote:*]]Manifestations of things that were destroyed in a location such as a chocolate bar that can be tasted but not physically eaten[[/labelnote]], [[TheWormThatWalks a sentient colony of plankton]] [[BodySnatcher living in and controlling a dead prisoner's corpse]] [[FingerGun that can use a literal hand-gun to shoot from the fingertips]] ([[AbnormalAmmo using the self-duplicating plankton themselves as bullets]]), a [[LaserGuidedAmnesia Laser-Guided Amnesiac]] who doesn't remember anything before going to prison [[WeatherManipulation and who can exert control over the weather and/or atmosphere]][[labelnote:*]]A secondary ability is responsible for the aforementioned rainbows turning people into snails[[/labelnote]], and a [[CrazyJealousGuy dangerously]]-[[StalkerWithACrush obsessive]] inmate who can "imprint" an attack on any surface as well as [[{{Intangibility}} phasing through solid objects]] while changing their composition. And all of this is on the long path to fighting and defeating the BigBad of the Part whose power and threat initially comes from being able to turn people's [[YourSoulIsMine memories]] and [[PowerNullifier abilities]] [[PowersAsPrograms into CD-like discs that are transferrable to other people]], who then later on [[GravityScrew gains control of the forces of gravity]] by fusing with a plant-human-hybrid baby, before ultimately becoming capable of [[spoiler:increasing the flow of time]] in order to [[spoiler:perform a CosmicRetcon on the universe]]. [[spoiler:He succeeds, if only partly, [[ContinuityReboot and the series ends up changing the setting]] to an entire AlternateUniverse going forward.]] And Florida is to thank for all of it.

Of course, Florida doesn't ''actually'' have more weirdos per capita than any other state with a similarly large and diverse population. They're just more willing to talk about it. In most other states, the details of crimes and legal proceedings are either classified or not available right away, whereas Florida is quite proud of its [[http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/how-floridas-proud-open-government-laws-lead-to-the-shame-of-florida-man-news-stories-7608595 transparency laws,]] also known as "sunshine laws", which give reporters easier access to police reports and court documents. So whereas an Ohio headline would read "Maple Heights woman arrested after assaulting sister," a ''Florida'' headline gets to go the extra mile and say "Manatee woman[[note]]That is, a woman from Manatee County, ''not'' some half-human aberration, though, again, you can't entirely rule out the existence of such a creature in Florida.[[/note]] punched sister during fight over vibrator." Of course, the manner in which these laws are enforced can themselves create some weird "only in Florida" stories, sometimes even creating ARareSentence in the process; see, for instance, the time when a father and son who were both Miami-Dade County commissioners had to [[http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2015/05/a-father-and-son-talk-but-first-a-legally-required-notice-to-the-public.html file a public notice]] just to have a private chat because they'd be discussing public transit issues, or when the governor was legally required to invite journalists to [[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article24515023.html cover his wedding]].

Another reason for the stereotype may be the fact that Florida is famous for its alligators. While not the only US state to have gators, it does have the highest gator population of any state. In fact, Gainesville, Florida has the highest gator population of any ''city''. Florida is so well-known for its gators that it has tourist attractions based around them, such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatorland Gatorland]]. Gators are typically seen as [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile chaotic, vicious beasts]], so they are ''very'' conducive to the madness of Florida. They are even involved in many of the "Florida Man" news stories.

It's perhaps for these reasons that Florida has developed a number of excellent newspapers, and several famous journalists like Creator/DaveBarry and Creator/CarlHiaasen got their start here, which is perhaps why so much is known about the state's quirks. Also, the now-defunct tabloid ''Magazine/WeeklyWorldNews'', known for its ''extremely'' bizarre cover stories, was based here as well, doubtlessly drawing inspiration from the local headlines. One newspaper, the ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'', has even used Florida's reputation as [[http://motherjones.tumblr.com/post/4046557808/the-best-journalism-job-want-ad-ever-ever a recruiting tool]], calling Florida "arguably the best news state in the country".

* ''Film/AceVentura'' features the kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins' live mascot, and star player, [[AsHimself Dan Marino]] as part of a convoluted revenge plot by [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten a disgraced former player]] who hailed from a [[TheDeepSouth small town in central Florida.]] Said player then escaped from a mental hospital in Tampa, and then [[spoiler: [[DeadPersonImpersonation assumed the identity of a missing female hiker,]] [[CreepyCrossDresser became a captain in the Miami police department,]] and [[DetectiveMole is in charge of the dolphin/Marino case.]]]] The case is solved by an [[BunnyEarsLawyer eccentric private investigator who specializes in finding missing pets.]]

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean'' (Part 6 of the series overall) takes place in the Sunshine State in 2011 and is widely regarded as [[SerialEscalation one of the weirder parts]] of the series. After all, only Florida would play host to such events as a prison escape with invisible zombies, [[RefugeeFromTVLand fictional characters]] [[MageInManhattan coming to life]], "rods"[[labelnote:*]]visual artifacts in photographs that don't exist in real life[[/labelnote]] capable of absorbing body heat being weaponized, and ''rainbows that turn people into snails via subliminal messaging''. The protagonist's group is no slouch either, consisting of: a [[TheLadette delinquent]] who can [[KnowsTheRopes unravel parts of her body into strings]], a HotBlooded prison veteran who can duplicate items via attaching stickers to them, a young boy born in prison that can use "ghost objects"[[labelnote:*]]Manifestations of things that were destroyed in a location such as a chocolate bar that can be tasted but not physically eaten[[/labelnote]], [[TheWormThatWalks a sentient colony of plankton]] [[BodySnatcher living in and controlling a dead prisoner's corpse]] [[FingerGun that can use a literal hand-gun to shoot from the fingertips]] ([[AbnormalAmmo using the self-duplicating plankton themselves as bullets]]), a [[LaserGuidedAmnesia Laser-Guided Amnesiac]] who doesn't remember anything before going to prison [[WeatherManipulation and who can exert control over the weather and/or atmosphere]][[labelnote:*]]A secondary ability is responsible for the aforementioned rainbows turning people into snails[[/labelnote]], and a [[CrazyJealousGuy dangerously]]-[[StalkerWithACrush obsessive]] inmate who can "imprint" an attack on any surface as well as [[{{Intangibility}} phasing through solid objects]] while changing their composition. And all of this is on the long path to fighting and defeating the BigBad of the Part whose power and threat initially comes from being able to turn people's [[YourSoulIsMine memories]] and [[PowerNullifier abilities]] [[PowersAsPrograms into CD-like discs that are transferrable to other people]], who then later on [[GravityScrew gains control of the forces of gravity]] by fusing with a plant-human-hybrid baby, before ultimately becoming capable of [[spoiler:increasing the flow of time]] in order to [[spoiler:perform a CosmicRetcon on the universe]]. [[spoiler:He succeeds, if only partly, [[ContinuityReboot and the series ends up changing the setting]] to an entire AlternateUniverse going forward.]] And Florida is to thank for all of it.

* Creator/PiersAnthony sets his ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' series in a land that is the ''exact'' size and shape of Florida, although it's [[DisSimile almost as mountainous as Florida isn't]].

* in the My Hero Academia fanfic Fanfic/OneForAllAndEightForTheNinth has an original arc in which class 1A and 1B meet some American and Mexican heroes, one of the American heroes is Florida Man, who, in the scene he was mentioned in, [[ItMakesSenseInContext was trying to coax a ten-meters long Sarcosuchus into wrestling him]]

* Fanfic/OneForAllAndEightForTheNinth has an original arc in which class 1A and 1B meet some American and Mexican heroes, one of the American heroes is Florida Man, who, in the scene he was mentioned in, [[ItMakesSenseInContext was trying to coax a ten-meters long Sarcosuchus into wrestling him]]

* Fanfic/OneForAllAndEightForTheNinth has class 1A and 1B meet some american and mexican heroes one of the american heroes is Florida Man, who, in the scene he was mentioned in, [[ItMakesSenseInContext was trying to coax a ten-meters long Sarcosuchus into wrestling him]]

* OneForAllAndEightForTheNinth has class 1A and 1B meet some american and mexican heroes one of the american heroes is Florida Man, who, in the scene he was mentioned in, [[ItMakesSenseInContext was trying to coax a ten-meters long Sarcosuchus into wrestling him]]

Of course, Florida doesn't ''actually'' have more weirdos per capita than any other state with a similarly large and diverse population. They're just more willing to talk about it. In most other states, the details of crimes and legal proceedings are either classified or not available right away, whereas Florida is quite proud of its [[http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/how-floridas-proud-open-government-laws-lead-to-the-shame-of-florida-man-news-stories-7608595 transparency laws,]] also known as "sunshine laws", which give reporters easier access to police reports and court documents. So whereas an Ohio headline would read "Maple Heights woman arrested after assaulting sister," a ''Florida'' headline gets to go the extra mile and say "Manatee woman[[note]]That is, a woman from Manatee County, ''not'' some half-human aberration, though, this being Florida, you can't entirely rule out the existence of such a creature[[/note]] punched sister during fight over vibrator." Of course, the manner in which these laws are enforced can themselves create some weird "only in Florida" stories, sometimes even creating ARareSentence in the process; see, for instance, the time when a father and son who were both Miami-Dade County commissioners had to [[http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2015/05/a-father-and-son-talk-but-first-a-legally-required-notice-to-the-public.html file a public notice]] just to have a private chat because they'd be discussing public transit issues, or when the governor was legally required to invite journalists to [[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article24515023.html cover his wedding]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'', the Governor of Florida gets lynched after decrying Dethklok and Nathan gets voted in as a replacement. Due to his complete lack of even the most basic life knowledge, he makes executions a standard punishment (because it's "Brutal"), introduces a new dollar that's printed in such quantities that it's useless (driving the state into a recession), and, when all else fails, they try to hold a concert because music makes everything better...except that [[WalkingDisasterArea considering who Dethklok is]], it winds up summoning a category ''6'' hurricane that pretty much wipes the state off the map. And despite this, one of the tattered, starving-to-death survivors still [[TakeThat says he's the best governor the state's ever had]].

* In the ''ComicBook/DisneyKingdoms'' book ''Figment 2'', the Academy Scientifica-Lucida relocated to a large plot of land in Florida to avoid any legal trouble with their experiments. At some point in the early 1980s, a large energy-filled [[Ride/SpaceshipEarth geodesic sphere]] appeared with no explanation on the campus and occasionally wavers in and out of existence. The faculty includes an aged blue fairy man and they've still kept Dreamfinder's [[YourMindMakesItReal Mesmonic Spark Convertor]] in storage.

* In the pilot of ''WesternAnimation/{{Inside Job|2021}}'' the robotic president of the United States decides to nuke humanity after reading Facebook posts about Florida.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'', The Governor of Florida gets lynched after decrying Dethklok and Nathan gets voted in as a replacement. Due to his complete lack of even the most basic life knowledge, he makes executions a standard punishment (because it's "Brutal"), introduces a new dollar that's printed in such quantities that it's useless (driving the state into a recession), and, when all else fails, they try to hold a concert because music makes everything better...except that [[WalkingDisasterArea considering who Dethklok is]], it winds up summoning a category ''6'' hurricane that pretty much wipes the state off the map. And despite this, one of the tattered, starving-to-death survivors still [[TakeThat says he's the best governor the state's ever had]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' begins in Florida. Only in Florida would a flying elephant be born...(In real life, touring circuses such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey had winter headquarters in Florida due to the climate.)

* LetsPlay/GrayStillPlays is an unashamedly proud Floridian who refers to his ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' player character as Florida Man, created a ''[[VideoGame/TheSims Sims]]'' family whose patriarch is named Florida Man, names all of his ''Episode'' characters as some variation of Floridaman, and once referred to [[DeathWorld Venus]] as [[ButForMeItWasTuesday South Florida]]. All of these characters have gotten themselves and/or numerous other people killed in the most ridiculous ways Gray (or, in the case of ''GTA'', his board creators) can manage. Yes, ''[[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds including Venus]]''.

%% The above three are literally all from Fark on the same day (March 12, 2008). Don't add in new items above unless they are from that day, as it renders the phrase "one day's worth of news" inaccurate.

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': The Season 4 three-part opener takes place in Coral Palms, Florida, while Jake and Holt are under witness protection. While the show is generally fairly absurd, the Florida setting pushes things UpToEleven with everything being named after some aspect of the Miami Dolphins football team [[note]] For example, s storage unit named after famous player Larry Csonka [[/note]], a woman demanding $15,000 for the video she recorded of the two getting hit by go-karts, an inept sheriff not batting an eye at prison fights but horrified by two men kissing, and Jake and Gina being able to get all the guns and bullets they want with no background check or questions asked.

Given the fact that such headlines are usually worded in the manner of "Florida Man does X," MemeticMutation has opted to interpret this to mean that all of these bizarre acts are the work of a ''[[AmalgamatedIndividual single specific individual]]'', a "[[SuperZeroes superhero]]"/supervillain named Florida Man, who is considered to be the AnthropomorphicPersonification of ChaoticStupid and the Avatar of Crystal Meth.

* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' has Jacksonville native Jason Mendoza, who is best described as the Florida Man meme in human form. To give one example: he tried to pull off a bank heist with a buddy by locking himself in a safe, only to suffocate to death because [[TooDumbToLive he thought wearing a snorkel would be enough to give him oxygen.]]
** Much like in the case of France, Michael claims that being born in Florida ''automatically'' docks you points on the morality system dictated in the afterlife, mocking the stereotype of Florida being a corrupt and backwards location.
** When Tahani attempts to transfer a large amount of her fortune to Jason, the banker she talks to mentions that they're supposed to shut down the building if anyone from Florida shows up. Keep in mind, the bank is in ''Australia''.
** To be honest, the show makes Florida sound more awesome than weird, such as being picked up in a monster truck taxi at the Macho Man Randy Savage Non-International Airport.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean'' (Part 6 of the series overall) takes place in the Sunshine State in 2011 and is widely regarded as [[SerialEscalation one of the weirder parts]] of the series. After all, only Florida would play host to such events as a prison escape with invisible zombies, [[RefugeeFromTVLand fictional characters]] [[MageInManhattan coming to life]], "rods"[[labelnote:*]]visual artifacts in photographs that don't exist in real life[[/labelnote]] capable of absorbing body heat being weaponized, and ''rainbows that turn people into snails via subliminal messaging''. The protagonist's group is no slouch either, consisting of: a [[TheLadette delinquent]] who can [[KnowsTheRopes unravel parts of her body into strings]], a HotBlooded prison veteran who can duplicate items via attaching stickers to them, a young boy born in prison that can use "ghost objects"[[labelnote:*]]Manifestations of things that were destroyed in a location such as a chocolate bar that can be tasted but not physically eaten[[/labelnote]], [[TheWormThatWalks a sentient colony of plankton]] [[BodySnatcher living in and controlling a dead prisoner's corpse]] [[FingerGun that can use a literal hand-gun to shoot from the fingertips]] ([[AbnormalAmmo using the self-duplicating plankton themselves as bullets]]), a [[LaserGuidedAmnesia Laser-Guided Amnesiac]] who doesn't remember anything before going to prison [[WeatherManipulation and who can exert control over the weather and/or atmosphere]][[labelnote:*]]A secondary ability is responsible for the aforementioned rainbows turning people into snails[[/labelnote]], and a [[CrazyJealousGuy dangerously]]-[[StalkerWithACrush obsessive]] inmate who can "imprint" an attack on any surface as well as [[{{Intangibility}} phasing through solid objects]] while changing their composition. And all of this is on the long path to fighting and defeating the BigBad of the Part whose power and threat initially comes from being able to turn people's [[YourSoulIsMine memories]] and [[PowerNullifier abilities]] [[PowersAsPrograms into CD-like discs that are transferrable to other people]], who then later on [[GravityScrew gains control of the forces of gravity]] by fusing with a plant-human-hybrid baby, before ultimately becoming capable of [[spoiler:increasing the flow of time]] in order to [[spoiler:perform a CosmicReset on the universe]]. [[spoiler:He succeeds, if only partly, [[ContinuityReboot and the series ends up changing the setting]] to an entire AlternateUniverse going forward.]] And Florida is to thank for all of it.

* [[WebVideo/ThePhilipDefrancoShow Philip Defranco]], who spent his teenage years in Florida, pokes fun at the state on his show from time to time.
--> '''Phil''': It's like a douchebag factory, really.

--->''Wayne Dilkes:'' Y'all are having a regular ten plagues of Egypt over here.

* ''Webcomic/EnnuiGO'': During Izzy's military invasion of Florida, we are introduced to a strange man with an autopsy scar, a drug habit, and a face that appears to have been partially torn off and sewn back on. After he robbed a bank as a distraction and appeared in the news, he earned the FanNickname of "Florida Man". He is later shown to not only be connected to Izzy's past, but also [[spoiler:having been around for about 200 years, [[http://ennuigo.thecomicseries.com/comics/1259/ always appearing in newspaper articles that only identify him as a "Florida Man"]].]]

Another reason for the stereotype may be the fact that Florida is famous for its alligators. While not the only US state to have gators, Florida is so well-known for its gators that it has tourist attractions based around them, such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatorland Gatorland]]. Gators are typically seen as [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile chaotic, vicious beasts]], so they are ''very'' conducive to the madness of Florida. They are even involved in many of the "Florida Man" news stories.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean'' (Part 6 of the series overall) takes place in the Sunshine State in 2011 and is widely regarded as [[SerialEscalation one of the weirder parts]] of the series. After all, only Florida would play host to such events as a prison escape with invisible zombies, [[RefugeeFromTVLand fictional characters]] [[MageInManhattan coming to life]], "rods"[[labelnote:*]]visual artifacts in photographs that don't exist in real life[[/labelnote]] capable of absorbing body heat being weaponized, and ''rainbows that turn people into snails via subliminal messaging''. The protagonist's group is no slouch either, consisting of: a delinquent who can unravel parts of her body into strings, a prison veteran who can duplicate items via attaching stickers to them, a young boy born in prison that can use "ghost objects"[[labelnote:*]]Manifestations of things that were destroyed in a location such as a chocolate bar that can be tasted but not physically eaten[[/labelnote]], a sentient colony of plankton living in and controlling a dead prisoner's corpse that can use a literal hand-gun to shoot from the fingertips (using the self-duplicating plankton themselves as bullets), an amnesiac who doesn't remember anything before going to prison and who can exert control over the weather and/or atmosphere[[labelnote:*]]A secondary ability is responsible for the aforementioned rainbows turning people into snails[[/labelnote]], and a dangerously-obsessive inmate who can "imprint" an attack on any surface as well as phasing through solid objects while changing their composition. And all of this is on the long path to fighting and defeating the BigBad of the Part whose power and threat initially comes from being able to turn people's memories and abilities into CD-like discs that are transferrable to others, who then later on gains control of the forces of gravity by fusing with a plant-human-hybrid baby, before ultimately becoming capable of [[spoiler: increasing the flow of time]] in order to [[spoiler:perform a CosmicReset on the universe]]. [[spoiler:He succeeds, if only partly, and the series ends up changing the setting to an entire alternate universe going forward.]] And Florida is to thank for it.