Juan Ponce de Leon was the first European to sail to an unknown land. When he stepped ashore in 1513, Palm Sunday (Pascua Florida in Spanish) was in progress. The Spanish conquistador decided to name the newly discovered land precisely in honor of this holiday. ¹⁾

Florida still has the death penalty today. Since 1976, 96 executions have been carried out. The last one took place on February 22, 2018. As of today (June 2018), 346 prisoners are awaiting execution. A Florida citizen carries out the execution. Authorities pay such a citizen $150. State law allows such a person to remain anonymous. ²⁾

Florida is described as a Sunshine State. In reality, however, it is not the sunniest state in the US. Arizona occupies the first place. ³⁾

The fourth largest city in Florida is Saint Petersburg. The name comes from the Russian St. Petersburg. The founder of St. Petersburg - Peter Demens - spent his childhood in the “original” St. Petersburg, hence the name. ⁴⁾

The motto of this state is “In God we trust.” ⁵⁾

Within the state lies the oldest city in the US. St. Augustine was founded in 1565 by the Spanish. ⁶⁾

Florida joined the United States in 1845. It was the 27th state at the time. ⁷⁾

The tanning oil used on sunny beaches was invented in Miami. Its inventor Benjamin Green made it in 1944 by boiling cocoa butter. ⁸⁾

Wherever you are in Florida, you will never be more than 60 miles away from the sunny coast. ⁹⁾

Letting off gas in public places is “illegal” in Florida. This was found out by a 13-year-old boy who was arrested at school. The reason? Excessive gas production. ¹⁰⁾

The law of this state prohibits falling asleep under a hair dryer. The ban also applies to the owner of a hair salon. ¹¹⁾

Florida has 131 public airports, 365 private airports, and 24 international airports. ¹²⁾

Nalcrest is a small town about 100 kilometers south of Orlando. Only retired letter carriers can live there. ¹³⁾

Florida was purchased by US authorities from Spain in 1819. ¹⁴⁾

In 1994, a 75-pound bag of cocaine fell off a plane in Florida. It landed in the middle of a special meeting of people discussing crime in Florida. ¹⁵⁾

Florida is the third most populous US state. ¹⁶⁾