{Florida Facts} The 50 States Fun Fact Blog Extravaganza!

Today’s post is going to be a little different. Most of the time, I pass on books that I can’t review, or are not for one of my favorite authors, but when The 50 States book came around and I had the opportunity to take a look at some of the spreads that they had for each state, I knew I had to participate.
This book is so cool you guys! If you have a youngster in your life, they need this book. Each state has all kinds of cool facts and a beautiful map.

I have lived in Florida my whole life and I was a history major in undergrad college, so I thought that I would share some of Florida’s history with you guys today.

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WELCOME TO THE SUNSHINE STATE What do an 87-year-old mouse, a tennis superstar with a 122-mile-per-hour serve, and a tailless dolphin all have in common? That’s right: Mickey Mouse, Serena Williams, and Winter the dolphin all call the 27th state home. And what about oranges, golf courses, and tourists? You’ve got it—the Sunshine State has the most in the nation! The 16th-century explorer Ponce de León named the state for the Spanish celebration Pascua Florida, or Feast of Flowers. This balmy part of the world certainly lives up to its beautiful name, with such natural attractions as the cypress swamps of Everglades National Park, the seashells of Sanibel Island, and the 1,197 miles of glorious coastline teeming with dolphins, manatees, and coral. Key West locals say that Florida’s most beautiful sight is the sun—they host a nightly arts festival and gather to watch the sun sink into the Gulf of Mexico.

History

12,000 YEARS AGO		12,000 YEARS AGO: The first humans come to Florida. The ancient Paleo people hunt mastodons, mammoths, and other big game across the Florida peninsula.
1513		APRIL 2, 1513: Spanish explorer Ponce de León arrives in the land he calls La Florida, meaning “Land of Flowers.”
1939		MAY 1, 1939: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Yearling, the story of a boy and an orphaned fawn set in Ocala National Forest.
1944		1944: During WWII airman Benjamin Green develops an early form of sunscreen that later becomes the popular, cocoa-scented Coppertone.
1959		FEBRUARY 22, 1959: Future NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500 Race . . . average speeds are 135 miles per hour.
1973		JANUARY 14, 1973: After playing a perfect season— winning every game—the Miami Dolphins win the Super Bowl.
1978		MARCH 12, 1978: Little Havana holds its very first Calle Ocho Festival, honoring Miami’s Hispanic community with tamales, dances, and mariachi music.
1981		APRIL 12, 1981: The first space shuttle launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
2003		JANUARY 27, 2003: Carl Hiaasen is awarded a Newbery Honor for his novel Hoot.
2014		MAY 2014: Engineering student Albert Manero founds Limbitless Solutions, which uses 3-D printers to make prosthetic arms for kids . . . for free!

Places to Visit in Florida: 

BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL RESERVE	THE BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE is home to the endangered Florida panther . . . and its predator: the alligator.
CAPE CANAVERAL	CAPE CANAVERAL Climb aboard a NASA spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center!
CHAMPION CIRCUMFERENCE	CHAMPION CIRCUMFERENCE The famous banyan tree at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates is big enough to fill a football field!
CIRCUS CLASS	CIRCUS CLASS Florida State University is one of only two colleges that offer circus lessons! (You Know why I picked this one! The circus is AWESOME!)
CITRUS	CITRUS 80% of the U.S.’s oranges and grapefruits are grown in the Sunshine State.
DALI MUSEUM	DALI MUSEUM Dripping clocks and other surreal artwork from Salvador Dali await you in St. Petersburg.
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK	EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK
FLORIDA STATE CAPITOL	FLORIDA STATE CAPITOL A high-rise state capitol was built behind the old one in the 1970s. It took over 3 million man hours!
GATOR WRESTLING	GATOR WRESTLING The Miccosukee people are famed for their reptile wrangling!
LITTLE HAVANA	LITTLE HAVANA is the place to get Cuban food, such as guava-and-cheese pastries.
MAGNET LAB	MAGNET LAB Tallahassee’s Mag Lab is a state-of-the- art magnet research center (Another throw to FSU!!)
MINI-PRESIDENTS	MINI PRESIDENTS Find a miniature Reagan, Obama, and all the others at the Presidents Hall of Fame in Clermont.
OCALA NATIONAL FOREST	OCALA NATIONAL FOREST has some 600 lakes as well as rivers and crystal- clear springs.- The Florida Trail goes through here, and the entire state
RINGLING MUSEUM	RINGLING MUSEUM Squeeze into a clown’s car at circus king John Ringling’s former estate in Sarasota.
SEED SPITTING	SEED SPITTING Every year the town of Chiefland holds a Watermelon Festival: the seed-spitting contest is a favorite!
SINGING TOWER	SINGING TOWER The 60 bells of the 205-foot-high Bok Tower ring twice daily.
ST. AUGUSTINE LIGHTHOUSE	ST. AUGUSTINE LIGHTHOUSE Investigate shipwrecks and hunt for ghosts at this historic lighthouse.
SUWANNEE RIVER	THE SUWANNEE RIVER has plentiful catfish, aka mudcat or chucklehead, for anglers to enjoy.
THE ERNEST HEMINGWAY HOME AND MUSEUM	THE ERNEST HEMINGWAY HOME AND MUSEUM The author’s former grounds are now overrun with cats!
THE GREAT AMERICAN RACE	THE GREAT AMERICAN RACE NASCAR racing began in Daytona. Drivers wear helmets and five-point harnesses, and carry fire extinguishers!
WALT DISNEY WORLD/Universal Studios	WALT DISNEY WORLD Here the very Brave can practice archery like Princess Merida.- and Harry Potters world at Universal Studios!
YEARLING RESTAURANT	THE YEARLING RESTAURANT at Cross Creek offers traditional swampland eats such as cooter, frog legs, and alligator!
ZORA NEALE HURSTON LIBRARY	THE ZORA NEALE HURSTON LIBRARY in Fort Pierce is the first stop on this award-winning author’s heritage trail.

And now look at the beautiful and fun Florida Spread in the 50 states

Click on the picture to see it bigger!

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