Florida Trivia & Tidbits - Page 6

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

Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith of Tampa was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, in April for sacrificing his life to save his fellow soldiers during a deadly battle outside the Baghdad airport in Iraq in April 2003. The last time the award was conferred was in 1994—to Gary Gordon and Randall Shughart for their actions in Somalia in 1993.

first appeared: 10/9/2005

With a padded hammer, patrons can gently ring a full-scale replica of the Liberty Bell at the Liberty Bell Memorial Museum in Melbourne (pop. 71,382). South Brevard County schoolchildren collected money to buy the bell, made in London, England, during the nation’s bicentennial in 1976.

first appeared: 9/25/2005

Home to 1,000 animals, Lion Country Safari, America’s first drive-through cageless zoo, opened in 1967 in West Palm Beach.

first appeared: 9/18/2005

The Polk County community of Nalcrest is home to more than 500 retired letter carriers. In the 1960s, the National Association of Letter Carriers created the retirement community with affordable housing for its members.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

The canoe from the movie Deliverance and the helmet from The Longest Yard are among memorabilia at the Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum in Jupiter (pop. 39,328). Reynolds has lived in Jupiter much of his life.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

Founded in 1944, the Silver Spurs Rodeo is the largest rodeo east of the Mississippi River and the state’s official rodeo since 1994. Cowboys and fans enjoy luxurious surroundings at the rodeo’s indoor Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee (pop. 47,814).

first appeared: 8/14/2005

In the 1950s, brothers Leonard and Jack Rosen created the community of Cape Coral, known as the "Venice of America" because of its elaborate system of more than 400 miles of salt- and freshwater canals.

first appeared: 7/31/2005

The names of more than 7,000 men and women who have died in the line of duty are engraved on the white marble walls at the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Titusville (pop. 40,670).

first appeared: 7/17/2005

Tired of schlepping his bags through airports, Northwest Airlines pilot Bob Plath fashioned a small upright suitcase on wheels in 1989 and transformed the luggage industry. His company, Travelpro, in Deerfield Beach (pop. 64,583) sells the Rollaboard.

first appeared: 6/19/2005

Established in 1977, Kona Skatepark in Jacksonville is believed to be the oldest private skateboarding park in the United States.

first appeared: 6/5/2005

In Lake Wales (pop. 10,194), cars appear to roll uphill in neutral gear on Spook Hill, an optical-illusion thriller rooted in local legend. The nearby Spook Hill Elementary School adopted Casper the Friendly Ghost as its mascot.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

At 96, Dorothy Geeben, mayor of Ocean Breeze Park (pop. 463), is believed to be the nation’s oldest mayor and is so well liked that she ran unopposed in 2004 for re-election to a two-year term and won.

first appeared: 5/8/2005

Shepard House, an 1890 Queen Anne mansion slated for demolition in Rockledge (pop. 20,170), was removed from its foundation and floated by barge on the Indian River to Historic Cocoa Village in Cocoa (pop. 16,412) last November. The owner paid $100,000 to "ship" the house.

first appeared: 4/24/2005

Construction began in 1846 on Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas, an island cluster off Key West (pop. 25,478). Due to the invention of the rifled cannon, which could penetrate its walls, the fort was never completed.

first appeared: 4/10/2005

Ed Leedskalnin used only hand tools to carve 1,100 tons of rock for Coral Castle, a monument to the sweetheart who jilted him, in Florida City (pop. 7,843). In the late 1930s, he moved the structure to Homestead (pop. 31,909), where it is open to visitors.

first appeared: 3/27/2005

The Civil War Soldiers Museum in Pensacola (pop. 56,255) showcases medical equipment used during the war.

first appeared: 3/13/2005

Opened in 1947 as a roadside fruit stand, Hale Indian River Groves in Wabasso (pop. 918) has blossomed into a national fruit and gift basket company.

first appeared: 2/27/2005

To celebrate its 65th anniversary, Truly Nolen Pest Control, founded in Miami in 1938, commissioned a 12-foot-long, 600-pound mousetrap, the world’s largest.

first appeared: 2/13/2005

The state’s largest remaining stand of virgin bald cypress trees grows in the National Audubon Society’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary northeast of Naples (pop. 20,976). In the sanctuary, a 2.25-mile boardwalk directs visitors through the forest of 600-year-old trees as well as a pine upland, wet prairie and marsh.

first appeared: 1/30/2005

In 1880, Thomas A. Albritton, a citrus grower, planted the state’s oldest family-owned business, Albritton Fruit Co., in Sarasota (pop. 52,715).

first appeared: 1/16/2005

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