Thousands of lives have been lost in Florida due to the coronavirus pandemic and now the disease has claimed an entire city. Thankfully, the mermaids are okay. The community in question is Weeki Wachee, a popular tourist destination about 50 miles north of Tampa, known for its mermaid shows since the 1940s and, at one time, the biggest tourist attraction […]
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The number of coronavirus cases and fatalities in Florida is at its peak, so what better time to drop restrictions on social distancing and open the beaches back up? What? You don’t see the logic in that? You think we should wait until the number of active cases declines so fewer people are exposed to the deadly communicable disease? Ha! […]
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Alexander Strange is marooned in Key West waiting out the pandemic. Here’s his latest report. We start out this edition of The Strange Files with an uplifting little story, not the least bit weird other than the setting is the Florida Keys, the epicenter of strange in America. Tip of the hat to the amazing staff at the Miami Herald, […]
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A stretch of Interstate 4, known as the Dead Zone, has been eating cars. In its entirety, I-4 connects Tampa with Daytona Beach, cutting through central Florida and, importantly, is the most heavily trafficked route used by millions of tourists flocking to Disney World each year. So, just by virtue of the volume of vehicles traversing the highway every day, […]
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So there you are on a hot, tropic day and a shower breaks out. So you slip under a pretty green tree sporting what looks like crabapples. Of course, hiding under a tree during a thunderstorm is an inherently bad idea. Trees being what scientists call Lightning Magnets. But this particular tree you’ve sought shelter under has its own nasty […]
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It looks kind of cute, harmless, fuzzy. If you encounter it, you may be tempted to pick it up, maybe even pet it. Don’t. Even though it may appear similar to a lucky rabbit’s foot, the puss caterpillar is one of the most poisonous insects in America, and you will instantly regret handling it. Just ask Bri Oteri of Dade […]
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So where’s the most unusual place you’ve ever had sexual relations? In the back seat? Betcha not a back seat like this. It began when a Fernandina Beach, Florida couple were pulled over by a cop for–are you ready?–bicycling while drunk. And how would a cop know whether a couple of people pedaling around the beach town were snockered? His […]
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A big shout-out to the Associated Press and other Florida newspapers for this summary of weird news from 2019. Keep being weird, Florida. In 2019, Florida Banana managed to eclipse Florida Man. From alligator antics to naked people doing wacky things, Florida did not disappoint in the weird news department. In December, a Miami couple spent more than $100,000 on […]
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Beware of escaped monkeys, pythons, and even cobras if you travel the Sunshine State. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has received calls about escaped exotic animals on an average of twice a month—that’s 260 escapees in the past 24 months. Orlando television station WKMG reported recently that monkeys lead the list of jail breakers—nearly a hundred in the […]
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