Florida Trivia & Tidbits - Page 4

Looking for Florida trivia? Try our list Florida little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—In 1841, a yellow fever epidemic devastated the population of the thriving trading port of St. Joseph, followed by a hurricane that destroyed most of the town’s buildings. The town later was moved to a nearby location and renamed Port St. Joe (pop. 3,644).

first appeared: 4/22/2007

—Nicknamed Canopy Meg, Margaret Lowman, a biology and environmental studies professor at the New College of Florida in Sarasota (pop. 52,715), pioneered forest ecology by building the first forest canopy walkway in North America in 1991 at Williams College’s Hopkins Memorial Forest in Williamstown, Mass.

first appeared: 4/8/2007

—The University of Florida in Gainesville is among the first universities in the nation to offer a major in organic farming. A class in organic crop production was offered during the 2006 fall semester.

first appeared: 3/25/2007

—The Four Freedoms Park and monument in Madison (pop. 3,061) honors native Capt. Colin P. Kelly, the first U.S. war hero of World War II. The monument also commemorates the 1941 speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who spoke of freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.

first appeared: 3/11/2007

—Katharine Jefferts Schori, 52, is the first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. Previously Bishop of Nevada, the Pensacola native began her nine-year term after a ceremony in November at Washington National Cathedral.

first appeared: 2/27/2007

—Lake Placid (pop. 1,668) long has attracted attention for its outdoor murals, but artists also have transformed trashcans into the shapes of a bear and beehive, a giant bottle of gum turpentine, a train engine, clown and a jack-in-the-box.

first appeared: 2/11/2007

—Churchgoers sit in their cars at the Daytona Beach Drive-In Christian Church at Daytona Beach Shores (pop. 4,299), where worship services have been held since 1953 at the former Neptune Drive-In theater.

first appeared: 1/28/2007

Opened in 1963, the Thunderbird Drive-in in Fort Lauderdale is among the nation’s largest drive-in movie theaters. The theater boasts 13 screens and doubles before dusk as the Swap Shop with vendors selling their wares on 88 acres.

first appeared: 1/14/2007

—Flagler County is the fastest growing county in the United States, based on rate of population gains, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Since the 2000 census, the county’s population has increased 53 percent, from 49,832 to 76,410.

first appeared: 12/17/2006

—The world’s largest collection of work by glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, including a chapel interior that he designed for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, shines at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park (pop. 24,090).

first appeared: 12/3/2006

—Thousands of ponytails have been donated to Locks of Love, headquartered in Lake Worth (pop. 35,133), so the hair can be made into wigs and hairpieces for disadvantaged children suffering from hair loss.

first appeared: 11/19/2006

—The Fishin’ Chix, a national women’s-only fishing club founded in Pensacola (pop. 56,255), combines fashion—think cute pink rubber boots—with fishing. Founder Claudia Espenscheid calls it “Armani-style” fishing.

first appeared: 11/5/2006

—Key lime pie became the state’s official pie in July. Popular since the late 1800s in Key West, the pie is made with small yellow key limes and sweetened condensed milk.

first appeared: 10/22/2006

—The world’s largest croquet complex, the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, covers 10 acres and features 12 manicured croquet lawns, a 19,000-square-foot clubhouse, croquet clinics and tournaments.

first appeared: 10/8/2006

The USS Oriskany, a naval warship whose service stretched from the Korean to the Vietnam wars, was sunk in May off the coast of Pensacola (pop. 56,255) where it will begin its next duty as a reef and underwater tourist attraction for divers.

first appeared: 9/24/2006

The Tampa Bay Hotel served as headquarters for U.S. military leaders, including Col. Theodore Roosevelt, during the Spanish-American War in 1898. Some 30,000 troops were stationed in the area.

first appeared: 9/10/2006

With its homeport in Miami, Royal Caribbean International's Freedom of the Seas debuted in May as the world's largest cruise ship. The ship boasts 15 passenger decks that accommodate more than 3,600 passengers, and feature a boxing ring and surfable wave pool.

first appeared: 8/27/2006

Ground was broken in February for the state's newest town, Ave Maria, and Ave Maria University, the first major Catholic university to be established in the United States in 40 years. The 5,000-acre site is located between Naples (pop. 20,976) and Immokalee (pop. 19,763). The town and university are scheduled to open in 2007.

first appeared: 8/13/2006

The nation's fastest growing county is Flagler County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The county's population jumped from 49,832 in 2000 to 76,410 in 2005, an increase of 53 percent.

first appeared: 7/30/2006

The state's first Olympic-size swimming pool, the Casino Pool, opened in 1928 in Fort Lauderdale. The nation's top swimmers, including Katherine Rawls, who earned more than 30 national titles for swimming and diving, trained in the saltwater pool.

first appeared: 7/16/2006

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